The Tennessee Titans once trailed 24-9 at the start of the second half against the Seattle Seahawks on the road. Derrick Henry didn’t do much damage in the first half, but he took over the game in the second half for Tennessee.
With the Titans trailing 30-16 in the fourth-quarter, Derrick Henry scored rushing touchdowns of 60 yards and a 1-yard run (under 30 seconds remaining in regulation). On Tennessee’s second drive in overtime, Randy Bullock drilled the game-winning 36-yard field goal with less than 4:50 remaining in overtime as the Tennessee Titans took down the Seattle Seahawks by a final score of 33-30 in overtime.
It took Tennessee a game and a half to figure out their offensive identity once again. They are dealing with a new offensive coordinator in Todd Downing. Arthur Smith was the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans the last two seasons before he departed to be the Atlanta Falcons head coach.
Downing’s game plan was abused in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals at home. He had a similar game plan to start against Seattle, but then they just threw it out and decided to hand the football off to Derrick Henry.
Even though Ryan Tannehill is a solid quarterback, this is still Derrick Henry’s football team. He is the best running back in the NFL. Henry just makes defensive linemen and linebackers tired. Henry rushed for 182 yards on 35 carries and three touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 55 yards receiving.
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His other touchdown of the football game came on Tennessee’s opening drive of the second half on a 9-yard rush.
When Derrick Henry is rolling, it opens up the entire offense. This is where play action is deadly for Tennessee. Ryan Tannehill completed 27-of-40 passes for 347 yards. He also rushed for 27 yards on four carries.
Julio Jones caught six passes for 128 yards receiving. He could have had a touchdown reception in the first half, but the touchdown was overturned on replay.
A.J. Brown had a rough day with three receptions for 43 yards receiving. He dropped a few passes.
Anyhow, despite the talent the Tennessee Titans have with Ryan Tannehill, Julio Jones, and A.J. Brown, they still have to run the football first with Derrick Henry. They tried being a pass-first team in the first game and a half, but head coach Mike Vrabel realized that Derrick Henry is his best offensive player no matter how good Ryan Tannehill is.
Henry struggled in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals and he isn’t going to be contained forever. He did rush for over 2,000 yards last season. Maybe getting him involved in the passing game may potentially be more dangerous for this Tennessee Titans offense.
This was a huge win for Tennessee because they avoided falling to 0-2.
The Tennessee Titans (1-1) will be at home against the Indianapolis Colts (0-2) next Sunday.
The Seattle Seahawks (1-1) will be on the road against the Minnesota Vikings (0-2) next Sunday.
~Glenn Kaplan, 12oz Sports Contributor
Photo Credit: Twitter @Titans
