Henry Has a New Challenger in NFL Rushing Race
NASHVILLE – Once Derrick Henry got out in front in the NFL rushing race the last two seasons, he stayed there for a while.
That is not the case in 2022.
In pursuit of his third NFL rushing title in four years, the Tennessee Titans running back has spent just two weeks at the head of the pack – and not in succession. Henry was the NFL’s first player to reach 1,000 rushing yards this season and was the league leader through Week 11.
Limited to 38 yards on 17 carries by the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, however, he fell to second as Las Vegas’ Josh Jacobs rode a 229-yard performance (the most by any player in a single game this season) to the top.
“We just couldn't get anything started in the run game,” Henry said about Cincinnati’s defense. “And obviously they had a plan and executed, and they played better than we did.
“… We didn’t do our job really”
Jacobs is the fourth different back to lead the league in rushing this season and the third in as many weeks, which has made it the most competitive rushing race in several seasons.
Cleveland’s Nick Chubb has spent a league-best five weeks on top, including four in a row from Weeks 5-8. Barkley has been No. 1 four different times. Henry also was in first following Week 9 but – when the Denver Broncos limited him to 53 yards on 19 rushes – ceded to the top spot to Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants in Week 10.
Those four currently are the top four in the league, and just 67 yards separates Jacobs at the top and Barkley in fourth place.
A week-by-week look the NFL’s leading rusher through the first 12 weeks of the 2022 NFL season:
| Week | Player, Team | Yards |
|---|---|---|
1 | Saquon Barkley, N.Y. Giants | 164 |
2 | Saquon Barkley, N.Y. Giants | 236 |
3 | Nick Chubb, Cleveland | 341 |
4 | Saquon Barkley, N.Y. Giants | 463 |
5 | Nick Chubb, Cleveland | 593 |
6 | Nick Chubb, Cleveland | 649 |
7 | Nick Chubb, Cleveland | 740 |
8 | Nick Chubb, Cleveland | 841 |
9 | Derrick Henry, Tennessee | 870 |
10 | Saquon Barkley, N.Y. Giants | 931 |
11 | Derrick Henry, Tennessee | 1,010 |
12 | Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas | 1,159 |
In 2020, when Henry won his most recent rushing title, four different players were on top at some point. However, from Week 3 on it was either Henry or Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook, and Henry went ahead to stay in Week 11 as he rolled to the fifth highest rushing total in league history (2,027 yards).
His defense of that title crumbled last season when a foot injury sidelined him for the final nine games of the schedule. At the time he was hurt, though, Henry had 937 rushing yards, 288 ahead of Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor in second place. It was not until three weeks later that Taylor finally overtook Henry, and the Colts running back remained on top all the way to the finish.
Of course, the only way to win a rushing title is to be the guy out in front following the final week of the regular season.
Henry proved that in 2019 when he was no higher than second through the first 16 weeks but jumped from third to first when he ran for 211 yards in the finale against Houston. He finished 44 yards ahead of Chubb, one of three players who spent at least three straight weeks on top (Cook and Christian McCaffrey were the others) along the way.
That was the last time at least five different players spent one week at the head of the pack (Indianapolis’ Marlon Mack was in first after Week 1), and the lead changed hands seven times over the next 16 weeks. Already this season, there have been seven changes at the top.
Henry’s pursuit of the new leader, Jacobs, begins Sunday at Philadelphia. The Eagles allow an average of 120.7 rushing yards per game (18th in the NFL) and 4.68 yards per carry (23rd).
“You've got to go back to work, watch the film, learn from it,” Henry said Sunday. “Go back to work, focus on improving, focus on getting better. We got another game coming up next Sunday. Learn from this one, just go back to work.”
