It wasn’t supposed to end this way — after what most believed was season-ending foot surgery following the Tennessee Titans’ Week 8 victory against the Indianapolis Colts, Derrick Henry worked tirelessly to return for the postseason.
In fact, the former Heisman Trophy winner was ready to play in the regular-season finale against the Houston Texans if need be, and Henry would have played had the Titans not already clinched a playoff spot.
The Titans knocked off their division rivals, 28-25, at Nissan Stadium, securing their first No. 1 seed in the playoffs since 2008. Perhaps more importantly, the first-round bye gave Henry another week to recover.
Henry carried the ball 20 times for 62 yards in the divisional round of the playoffs. But the Titans couldn’t get out of their own way, committing three costly turnovers en route to the Bengals’ shocking 19-16 victory in Nashville.
Just like that, the Titans’ season was over — no magical playoff run, no storybook ending.
“When I see anything about football, whether I am watching TV or see something on my phone about football, it brings that sick feeling back,” Henry told Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “While I’m here, you just have to deal with it the best you can. It still hurts.
“I am still not over the fact that we lost, and we’re not here. It will replay in my head until we get back to football, which is going to be a while. But yeah, it still replays in my head every single day. I wanted (to win the Super Bowl) bad, and I know all of my teammates wanted it bad. Everybody was shocked when we lost. So that will be in my head until I am able to strap up again and play in a game.”
The Yulee, Florida native was well on his way to approaching Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record before he got hurt.
Through the first eight games of the 2021 season, Henry racked up 937 yards. Despite not playing since the end of October, the Titans running back remained within the top-5 of rushing leaders well into December.
There's just one week left in the regular season and Derrick Henry – who has been out since Halloween – is still 6th in the NFL in rushing yards.
🤯🤯🤯
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 5, 2022
Henry was the one constant on the Titans’ roster, which was plagued with injuries but somehow continued to pile up win after win.
With Henry, the Titans racked up notable wins in Seattle and at home against Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Buffalo. Even after he went down, the Titans took down the Los Angeles Rams at Sofi Stadium, followed by a nail-biting win against the New Orleans Saints at home.
The Rams are the second straight team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium, squaring off against the team that eliminated the Titans. Henry noted that Tennessee is working to be where Los Angeles is right now.
“I haven’t been to a Super Bowl since I’ve been in the league,” Henry said. “Hopefully we can get there and win it next year. That’s what we’re working for, to win a championship.”
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