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The Kansas City Chiefs face a 247-pound problem in Week 7 and his name is Derrick Henry.
The Tennessee Titans juggernaut of a running back has performed a rare NFL feat for his position, he’s gotten better with age. Commonly referred to as “King Henry,” the ball carrier was the AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2020 after rushing for over 2,000 yards with 126.7 yards on the ground per game.
In 2021, he’s actually on pace to smash that career-high, averaging 130.5 rush yards per game through six weeks. If Henry can keep this up, he’ll run for 2,218 yards this season. What the Titans superstar is doing at age 27 isn’t just outstanding, it’s downright absurd and Chiefs HC Andy Reid had a unique comparison for the one-of-a-kind half-back.
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Who Does Henry Remind Reid Of?
Earlier in the week, Patrick Mahomes called Henry “one of the best running backs of all-time,” so Chiefs media decided to ask Big Red if the hulking rusher reminded him of anyone. Reid’s response was certainly unexpected, although it made a ton of sense.
“Yeah, Marion Motley,” he said with a laugh, “that was a good answer, wasn’t it?”
Motley was a linebacker turned fullback that played for the Cleveland Browns from 1946-1953. He finished with one season for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.
A quote from his HOF bio stands out. Motley once said: “I was as big as the linemen I ran against, so I didn’t worry about them. And once I ran over a back twice, I didn’t have to run over him a third time. He had reservations by then.”
Sound familiar?
Henry tends to have more success late in games due to his ridiculous stamina. He wears down defenses and gouges them once they’re fatigued. This could be a major problem for Kansas City, who’s currently ranked 27th in the NFL against the run with 133.2 rush yards allowed per game.
Reid concluded: “He’s a heck of a football player. To do what he is doing right now and for us to be able to witness that is something special. He’s a big man that keeps himself in great condition, that just doesn’t happen, it’s a year-round process to make sure you get that done. And then I think he’s a good kid on top of all that and he goes out and plays hard. I think he does a nice job, handles himself right.”
By the way, the 6-foot-3 Henry is actually bigger than Motley was at 6-foot-1. He’s also much faster and more elusive. That’s a scary thought.
Thoughts From Spags
Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo addressed the media on October 21, talking about Henry, A.J. Brown, Julio Jones, Ryan Tannehill and this entire Titans offense.
“Who’s number 22?” Spags joked when the immediate question came in on Henry. When a player is this dominant, sometimes all you can do is laugh when tasked with stopping him.
The DC noted that they did put an emphasis on tackling in practice this week, but added: “Even then I still don’t think you’re going to get a real feel for what it’s going to be like when you get the first hit.” In the end, Spagnuolo admitted that Henry is “a challenge, no question.”
Tennessee has handed their RB the football 28 or more times in four out of six games this season. Expect that to continue in Week 7 as the Chiefs formulate a plan to slow him down. If they fail in this regard, Sunday could become a shootout in a hurry. The Titans ranks 24th in points allowed on the season.
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