Derrick Henry May Return, but Not His Shot at These Records

Even though it’s achievable a facsimile of Derrick Henry exists in Palau or Kyrgyzstan or in some astral plane, there has never ever been an N.F.L. functioning back again as tall as Henry, as thick as Henry and as swift as Henry. That truth has been usually seriously excellent for the Tennessee Titans and actually negative for all people else.

These who slide under the Anyone Else heading will get an indefinite reprieve from Henry’s weekly stampedes right after he hurt his proper foot Sunday in Tennessee’s 34-31 overtime victory at Indianapolis. He is scheduled to undertake surgery Tuesday and there isn’t nonetheless a timetable for his return. Henry’s absence is a monstrous reduction for the Titans (6-2), for his pursuit of a half-dozen rushing marks, and for those people who get pleasure from watching significant, powerful, rapid men and women do absurd factors with a soccer. Which really should be absolutely everyone who is not responsible for tackling him.

Henry led the league in speeding attempts, speeding yardage and hurrying touchdowns in 2019. He led the league in individuals groups in 2020. 8 months into this time, he potential customers in all of them again.

Individuals statistics — 219 rushes, 937 yards, 10 touchdowns this time — after signified promise and opportunity, the possibility of Henry’s trampling records and defenders to write-up just one of the most effective dashing seasons ever. Now the quantities, as if on a damaged odometer, are trapped as is, not likely to swell yet again in 2021.

Henry had been not only matching his 2020 effectiveness — when he rushed for the fifth-most yards in a one period league historical past — but was outpacing each other again by these kinds of wide margins that it was acceptable to surprise no matter whether they were being all actively playing the similar activity.

Guess what? They form of weren’t.

In a league in which substantial-quantity running backs have pale as groups request to choose benefit of procedures that benefit quarterbacks and passing offenses, the Titans have been, unabashedly, an anachronism. Their offensive identification has centered on handing the ball, about and about, to the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry.

Tennessee runs the ball extra on initially and 2nd down (55 %) than any team besides Chicago and New Orleans, according to Sharp Football Stats — considerably far more than the league common of 46 % in those scenarios. In an energy to consist of him, defenses in some cases deploy 8 of their 11 gamers in the box, the compressed area generally occupied by defensive linemen and linebackers. Henry has faced people so-called stacked containers at a larger charge (36.5) than everybody but Mark Ingram, Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell, in accordance to N.F.L.’s Following Gen Stats and the more awareness deters neither Tennessee nor him.

After running 28 moments Sunday towards Indianapolis to carry his period overall to 219, Henry has the most carries by the to start with 8 video games of the time, in accordance to Pro Football Reference.

He has acquired 288 far more yards than the up coming-closest functioning back again, Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts, and has carried the ball 82 far more moments than the next-closest managing back, Joe Mixon of the Cincinnati Bengals.

In the smaller subset of N.F.L. backs that approximate Henry’s dimensions, none make like he does. Cookie Gilchrist, shown by Pro Soccer Reference as 6-foot-3 and 251 lbs, ran for 1,096 yards for Buffalo in 1962 in a 14-activity American Soccer League season. Henry virtually doubled that complete previous time, when he rushed for 2,027 in 16 video games.

Of his hurrying yards, the vast vast majority have arrive right after get hold of. Whilst advanced statistical websites seem to vary on the correct number, Professional Football Focus stated that Henry experienced piled up 728 after staying strike — 265 far more than Taylor, who has the second-most this period.

Seriously, there’s barely a statistic appropriate to Henry that he is not commanding. Touches? By a ton (237). Yards from scrimmage? Check (1,091). Whole touchdowns (10, tied with Rams receiver Cooper Kupp), all-reason yardage (1,091), initially downs (49). Yup, yup and yup.

Thinking of that the passing revolution has assailed N.F.L. annals about the final two decades, it figured that the league’s shift to a 17-video game schedule would hasten the demise of the single-season quarterbacking marks still left standing. The added activity has also produced attainable the working information that have stood for almost 40 several years.

Henry has been a paragon of sturdiness, lacking only two of 88 job video games ahead of his foot injuries, but also a beacon of late-season awesomeness: Throughout 2019 and 2020, in accordance to Pro Football Reference, he averaged 4.2 yards per rush and 88.9 yards for every activity in September and October. His averages vaulted to 6 yards for each rush and 136.6 for each video game around the relaxation of the season. With a person additional activity extra, all those lofty dashing documents stood as little chance as Henry’s tacklers.

In its place, Henry will pass up the frequent year months when he seems to get stronger. There will be no alternatives for him to stiff-arm the Patriots in the late-autumn New England chill (7 days 12) or to flatten the Steelers in frosty Pittsburgh (7 days 15) or batter the 49ers at household in key-time (7 days 16).

As this sort of, Eric Dickerson’s single-year speeding mark of 2,105 yards in 1984 remains secure for a different calendar year. So will Larry Johnson’s 416 carries (2006), and James Wilder’s 492 touches (1984) and even Chris Johnson’s 2,509 yards from scrimmage (2009).

Henry could have broken them all. Perhaps he still will — upcoming year.