Titans Need More From Henry, Run Game in Week 2

Analytics determined the two-time NFL rushing champion did not gain as many yards as he should have (a rare occurrence) against the New York Giants.

NASHVILLE – Playing his first regular-season game since last October, Derrick Henry wasn’t bad in last Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants.

But neither was he special. He carried 21 times for 82 yards. on the 21-20 season-opening defeat.

“We left a lot of meat on the bone running the football,” coach Mike Vrabel said.

Henry and the Tennessee Titans’ running attack overall will likely need to be more special than so-so on Monday when Tennessee travels to Buffalo.

A heavy and productive dose of Henry would go a long way toward maintaining possession of the football, which would, of course, keep Bills quarterback Josh Allen and his electric offense off the field.

Successful running games proved a thorn in Buffalo’s side last season, as illustrated by the Titans’ 34-31 win over the Bills, when Henry ran 20 times for 143 yards and three touchdowns.

A look at what happened in four other Buffalo losses last year:

• The Patriots piled up 222 rushing yards in a 14-10 victory over the Bills, winning the time of possession battle.

• Jonathan Taylor ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns when the Colts thumped the Bills 41-15, possessing the football for almost 38 minutes.

• Leonard Fournette ran for 113 yards and a touchdown when the Buccaneers beat Buffalo 33-27 in overtime, winning the time of possession battle.

• The Chiefs ran for 182 yards and two touchdowns in beating Buffalo 42-36 in overtime in the playoffs, and held the ball for about nine more minutes than the Bills.

“The Bills have an explosive offense,” Titans center Ben Jones said. “They’ve been together for a while. … They’re as solid as they come. So we know the more we can control the clock and do all that, it’s better for us.’

Can Henry and the Titans’ rushing attack do significant damage to the Bills’ defense, one that surrendered just 52 yards on 18 carries in last week’s thumping of the Los Angeles Rams?

It’s unclear after the Titans’ performance on the ground against the Giants.

Henry ranked 10th among all NFL rushers in Week 1, but his 3.9-yard average ranked just 23rd among players with at least 10 attempts. His 18-yard run in the second quarter was his only gain of more than 10 yards, though he did have a 13-yard run negated by an Aaron Brewer holding penalty.

A look at some advanced stats from the Giants game seem to suggest the Titans’ run-blocking was more effective than the actual running.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) gave the Titans the ninth-best team run-blocking grade of the weekend at 67.0, and ESPN had the Titans 10th in team run blocking.

Right guard Nate Davis had the Titans’ top individual run-blocking grade at 77.7, per PFF, followed by rookie right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere at 71.2.

In terms of Henry’s running, Next Gen Stats indicated that – as Vrabel noted – there may have been some meat left on the bone.

Henry’s expected yardage for the game was 95 yards, 13 more than he totaled. In other words, he averaged about 0.64 yards less than expected on his 21 carries.

“We're all in it out there and we have to have a play design,” Vrabel said. “Sometimes Derrick (Henry) bounces, makes a huge play, sometimes he sticks it up inside and gets a couple of dirty yards. We've always trusted him with the football to go.

“That's why I tell those guys to finish longer than the guy with the ball. Sometimes we've seen them break it out and make magic happen and sometimes it's a one or two-yard gain. That's what we've entrusted (Henry) to do and that's why he's our running back. That's why we rely heavily on him.”