The Tennessee Titans missed running back Derrick Henry in their 38-28 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 16 at Nissan Stadium.
The former 2016 second-round pick from Alabama was out with a hamstring injury. With a win ensuring the Titans qualify for the postseason for the second time in three seasons, and the first in the Mike Vrabel era, Tennessee could sure use their feature back.
“We’re just trying to get everybody that’s healthy back for the game that can help us win,” Vrabel told the Houston media on a conference call Tuesday. “It’s the playoffs for us, it’s not quite the playoffs for everybody else, but it’s the playoffs for us.”
Though neither team practiced on Christmas Day, both the Texans and Titans released injury reports of estimated participation had there been practice. Henry was listed as a “full participant.”
If the Titans can get Henry back, it will be an added dimension the Texans would have to manage as they count down the time to the postseason.
“Derrick’s run hard for us,” Vrabel said. “He’s tried to break some tackles, and again, you can’t block everybody. You have to make somebody miss or break a tackle. His attitude has been great. Like the rest of us, he needs to try to continue to improve late in the season.”
For the Texans, they have their ticket punched for the playoffs as their 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers secured the AFC South title for them in Week 16. A win against the Titans is immaterial unless paired with a Kansas City Chiefs loss. Then, Houston would move up to the No. 3 seed. However, they are locked into wild-card weekend (Jan. 4-5) as the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots are set to have the AFC’s only two first-round byes.
Henry may be back for the Titans, which is beneficial for them. As it relates to the Texans, they are counting down until the playoffs.