The Tennessee Titans are officially in the playoffs after they wrapped up the AFC South with a convincing 34-3 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 17, and they are also one step closer to getting Derrick Henry back.
On Sunday, ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported that Henry could be back in Week 18, but the Titans would prefer to give him more time to rest, and would likely do so if they clinched a playoff spot.
And the Titans did just that, but now they have a shot to win the No. 1 seed in the conference with a victory over the Houston Texans in Week 18. Whether or not that will be enough to deploy Henry if he’s healthy remains to be seen.
After the win over Miami, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t say one way or the other if Henry would be back for the regular-season finale.
“I think the plan is always going to be, ‘Where is he at?’ And each individual player, can they do their job effectively? Can they make it worse? And can they protect themselves out there? You guys — it’s a violent game. We done want to put guys out there that can’t go out there and protect themselves or they can make it worse.”
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill noted after the game that the Titans are starting to build some momentum, and he’s hopeful that Henry can return to add to Tennessee’s confidence.
“We’re starting to have a little bit of momentum and do some good things, obviously,” Tannehill said. “We’ll see where Derrick (Henry) ends up and hopefully we can get him back, but getting A.J. (Brown) back, we’re starting to build some momentum, play some consecutive games with good football, taking care of the ball and running the football. Playing our style of ball has been huge for us to kind of finish up these few weeks of the season.”
Left tackle Taylor Lewan was proud of the way the offensive line and backs performed in the run game, but he also admitted he misses Henry, both on the field and in the locker room, and rightly called the star running back a “huge staple” on the team.
“There is always room for improvement,” Lewan said. “Those guys ran their ass off today. (Dontrell) Hilliard, (D’Onta) Foreman, (Jeremy) McNichols, they ran their asses off. They found holes and the boys were blocking. That is a really good defense. Hats off to the Dolphins. They have won seven in a row for a reason. Their defense was that dominant. We knew we had a lot to play up to. I am proud of that. You miss the King (Derrick Henry), though. Not just him on the field, but him in the locker room with the boys. That guy is a huge staple of our team.”
If more time is what the Titans desire for Henry, they likely won’t deploy The King in Week 18, especially considering Tennessee should be able to win without him, and they do have a back playing well in D’Onta Foreman.
Tennessee can further help that cause by clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC, which would push Tennessee’s first playoff game back from Jan. 15 at the earliest, to Jan. 22 at the earliest.
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