Fresh off their 34-31 overtime victory over the Indianapolis Colts last week, the Tennessee Titans scrambled to find a replacement for superstar running back Derrick Henry, who underwent foot surgery on Tuesday.
The Titans acted swiftly, bringing in veteran and free-agent running back Adrian Peterson on Monday, and he officially signed with the club the following day.
The 36-year-old practiced with his new team for the first time on Wednesday, with the intent of starting Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Sans Henry, most of the national media pegged the Rams to come away with the victory on “Sunday Night Football,” but it was the Titans who shocked the world, winning 28-16 in what never felt like a close game.
As for Peterson, he was named the starting running back going into the game and ran for three yards on his first carry. He ultimately finished with just 21 yards on 10 carries (2.1 yards per tote), but he did find the end zone to put the Rams away in the fourth quarter.
“It’s very exciting, it was an ideal situation for me,” Peterson said after the game. “I wanted to come into this week and put my best foot forward, come out today and contribute any way that I could. So, that’s pretty much what I did.”
Without Henry, it took a couple of series for the Titans to find their footing, but the defense made a couple of big plays back-to-back to get things going.
With the Rams backed up at their own 10-yard line, Jeffery Simmons got to Rams quarterback Matt Stafford in the end zone, forcing the latter to throw an errant pass right to David Long.
The Titans scored on the next play on a beautiful pass from Ryan Tannehill to Geoff Swaim. On the next series for Los Angeles, Titans safety Kevin Byard picked off Stafford on the first play, returning it for a touchdown.
Just like that, it was 14-3 in favor of the road team.
Coming into the organization halfway through the 2021 season, Peterson’s initial takeaway from the Titans as a group explained why the team has had so much success under head coach Mike Vrabel.
“A great group of guys that have each other’s back, a gritty team, a lot of heart, and just really passionate about what they do,” he said. “They’re really about the small things – offensively, defensively, special teams, well-coached. I see why they have had the success they’ve had over the years.”
Without Henry, the Titans’ offense struggled to move the ball consistently, and it certainly didn’t help that wide receiver A.J. Brown had a couple of drive-ending drops.
ALL DAY. ALL NIGHT. @AdrianPeterson
📺: Watch #TENvsLAR on @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/xZhBtDX9iD
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 8, 2021
Holding onto a 21-9 lead, Tennessee stopped the Rams on fourth down at the Titans’ 40-yard line. From there, the Titans marched down the field, aided by two roughing the passer penalties, eventually setting the stage for Peterson’s first touchdown from the one-yard line.
“It felt good to get into the end zone,” the long-time Minnesota Viking added. “I had to make up for the previous play that I had, the wildcat. That one was kind of bothering me, so I guess that touchdown made up for it a little bit.”
As a group, the Titans struggled to run the ball, rushing for a combined 69 yards on 26 carries. It was actually D’Onta Foreman who was Tennessee’s best runner on Sunday night, not Peterson.
The veteran was running too high all night and there were several instances that he ran into his own offensive lineman before gaining minimal yardage.
Peterson is likely to remain with the Titans during Henry’s absence, and his form and ability to find holes between the tackles should come easier as the team gels, gets healthier upfront, and as he gets more acclimated.
“I felt like it was ok,” Peterson said of his overall debut. “I think we left a lot out there as a running back group. I know I did as well. As we continue to get practice and get reps in, we’ll continue to get chemistry with those guys up front.”
The Titans (7-2) made it the most difficult portion of their schedule with a perfect 4-0 record.
Now, they will head back home to face a 5-3 New Orleans Saints club that has Trevor Siemian starting in place of Jameis Winston, who tore his ACL, ending his season.
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