Final Countdown: Packers, Titans and Clashes vs. Top Running Backs
GREEN BAY, Wis. – To topple a king, it takes an army.
To tackle King Henry, it’s going to take an army of 11.
The Green Bay Packers will face a tall task on Sunday night in trying to contain the man with the rushing crown, Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry.
Henry is the most physically imposing running back in the NFL. At 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds, he can be a tractor-trailer driving through a swarm of mosquitoes. But he’s also got the speed to run away from defenders.
With that frightening combination, Henry leads the NFL with 1,679 rushing yards. With 321 yards in his final two games, he’d become just the eighth 2,000-yard rusher in NFL history. His 119.9 rushing yards per game is No. 14 of all-time. Of the 13 backs ahead of him on that list, only three can meet or exceed his 15 touchdown runs.
“It’s certainly a challenge,” defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said this week. “Like we talk to our guys each week, the tape doesn’t lie. This is a special back that’s having a career year. So, it’s a big challenge for us. Our guys are looking forward to it. It’s December football at Lambeau. I think it being a night game and national TV, I just think everything’s going to be ramped up and I’ll be shocked if our guys aren’t raring to go.”
Every defense is “raring to go” to start a game against Henry. It’s rarely mattered, though. He’s topped 130 yards in four of his last five games.
“He’s a great back. For him to be so big, he’s so fast — just an all-around complete back who can do everything,” defensive tackle Kenny Clark said. “This is a huge game. We all know that. They’re fighting for something. We’re fighting for something. I just know it’s going to be a playoff atmosphere. It’s going to show us where we’re at as a defense, as a team.
“This is definitely going to be a huge test for us. We’re excited about it.”
Henry isn’t just a bulldozer – unless it’s a bulldozer with rockets strapped to the back. Over the last three seasons, there have been seven touchdown runs of 90-plus yards. He’s got two of them. He’s second in the NFL during that span with four touchdown runs of 65-plus yards.
The speed is what worries Pettine.
“The biggest mistake that I think defenders make against him is they underestimate his speed,” he explained. “So many of his explosive runs have occurred on bounce out-type plays where things are bottled up inside or where he notices something where there’s a soft edge and he put his foot in the ground and circles the defense. A lot of times, those DBs are coming straight at him and they feel like, ‘A guy this big, I’ve got him in my sights’ and, the next thing you know, he’s running around him. So, the first part of tackling him is your angle.”
Green Bay’s run defense, so awful in a home loss to Dalvin Cook and the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8, has played much better of late. Last week, Carolina’s Mike Davis gained 59 yards on 14 tries (4.2 average). In Week 14, Detroit’s three backs combined for 34 yards on 13 attempts (2.6 average). In Week 13, Philadelphia’s Miles Sanders, who is sixth in the NFL in yards per game, carried 10 times for 31 yards (3.1 average). In Week 12, Chicago’s David Montgomery gained 103 yards on 11 attempts. Every run counts, obviously, but that’s a more manageable 46 yards on 10 carries (4.6 average) with a 57-yarder on the opening series thrown out of the mix. In Week 11 against Indianapolis, Jonathan Taylor gained 90 yards on 22 attempts and its top three backs managed 113 yards on 32 carries (3.5 average).
Improving the run defense was a major emphasis for Pettine during the offseason.
“You’re always remembered by your last performance and we all know what happened,” Pettine said in reference to last year’s NFC Championship Game debacle at San Francisco. “So, do we feel good about it? Yeah, at times.”
In Pettine’s three years on the job, this will mark Green Bay’s ninth game against a back who finished in the top six in rushing yards per game. The Packers have held the back to fewer yards than his season average in three of those games but they’ve only been blown off the field once – Cook’s 163 yards in the seventh game of the season.
Since then, from Game 8 through Game 14, Green Bay is ninth with 101.1 rushing yards allowed per game.
“I’m going to be honest with you. I still leave those games thinking we left more out there,” defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery said. “What I mean by that is we’ve got to do a better job – all 11 guys – of doing our job consistently. There’s still times out there where there’s a play that we gave up that we shouldn’t have had everybody done their jobs. But I think the guys are dialed in and have gotten better each week. That’s what you want to do is continue to strive to get better as we go on this stretch.”
Games vs. Top 6 in Rushing Yards Per Game in Pettine Era
2020
Dalvin Cook, Minnesota: Average – 103.8. Against Green Bay – 12 carries, 50 yards; 30 carries, 163 yards.
Miles Sanders, Philadelphia: Average – 73.6. Against Green Bay – 10 carries, 31 yards.
James Robinson, Jacksonville: 71.3. Against Green Bay – 23 carries, 109 yards.
2019
Christian McCaffrey, Carolina: Average – 86.7. Against Green Bay – 20 carries, 108 yards.
Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas: Average – 84.8. Against Green Bay – 12 carries, 62 yards.
2018
Todd Gurley, L.A. Rams: Average – 89.4. Against Green Bay – 25 carries, 114 yards.
Chris Carson, Seattle: 82.2. Against Green Bay – 17 carries, 83 yards.
Countdown To Kickoff
Five Days: Five Keys to the Game
Four Days; Four Views from Inside the Titans
Three Days: Three Reasons to Worry
Linsley Returns (and More Roster Moves)
Elgton Jenkins: His Best Position
