Derrick Henry becomes the eighth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season
The Tennessee Titan’s running back Derrick Henry over the last couple of years has established himself as one of the best players in the NFL. However, in the final regular-season game against the Houston Texans this Sunday, he officially etched his name in the history book. In the final quarter of the Week 17 matchup, Derrick Henry took a carry on second-and-5 for 6 yards and became just the eighth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season. Henry reached this impressive feat with the Titans trailing 35-31 in an important playoff seeding game.
In 1973, Bills legendary runningback O.J. Simpson became the very first player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single-season. Simpson recorded 2,003 yards and 12 touchdowns during the 1973 campaign and barely beat the record by 3 yards. Current player and runningback legend Adrian Peterson was the last player to join the list. In 2012, Peterson was coming off a year where he tore his ACL and many people were skeptical on whether or not Peterson would be the same runner. Yet, he rushed for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns with the Minnesota Vikings in his historic season in 2012. It may come as a surprise but Henry is actually the second Titan to join this exclusive club, as back in 2009, Chris Johnson also rushed for over 2000 yards with 2,006 yards and 14 touchdowns With Henry’s most recent accomplishment, the Titans have now become the only franchise to have two players to rush for over 2000 yards in a single season.
Needing 223 yards to reach 2000 yards, Henry came into Week 17 with his mind set on the milestone. Although the goal seems like a career game for most runningbacks, Henry is not your average back. The monster runningback averages a whopping 118.5 yards per game on the season and has rushed for over 200 yards in a single game four different times in his career in the regular season — including when back in October the Titans hosted the Texans in Nashville. In that game, Henry dominated by rushing for 212 yards and two touchdowns in the 42-36 victory over Houston.
After only being drafted out of powerhouse Alabama in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Titans, Henry has become the face of the franchise and a major reason for the team’s recent success in both the regular season and the playoffs. Just last year in the playoffs, the Titans faced the defending Superbowl champion New England Patriots. In that game, Henry took over and rushed for 182 yards and then followed up his performance with an even better one with 195 yards against the Baltimore Ravens to take the Titans to the AFC Championship game. These massive performances came with new benefits as Henry secured a new extension this offseason, and rewarded the Titans by putting up career-high numbers. Now, Henry will look to replicate his playoff performances last year to help lead his team to the Superbowl.
