In his previous five games against the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry had rushed for 1,018 yards and 10 touchdowns on 143 carries. In Sunday’s 19-16 overtime loss to the Texans, Henry totaled 9 yards on 16 rushing attempts and 1 yard on four receptions.
“I don’t really have no words,” Henry said after the game. “It just wasn’t good enough. Yeah, tough.”
The loss dropped the Titans to 5-9 as Tennessee joined the New England Patriots and the New York Jets as the teams eliminated from the AFC playoff race.
With three games remaining on his four-year contract with the Titans, Henry was asked did he “ever think it could be over” for him in Tennessee, which he joined as a second-round pick from Alabama in the 2016 NFL Draft.
“Definitely today, you had that feeling,” Henry said. “We had hope of kind of slipping in there, and then being eliminated knowing there’s three games left. You know, I’ve been here my whole career. Definitely wanted to go out strong, which that isn’t the case. But I’m going to try to give it my all these last three games and leave it all on the field.”
Before Sunday, 34 yards were the fewest that Henry had recorded in a game in which he had at least 16 rushing attempts. The two-time NFL rushing champion became the 10th NFL player since 1933 with at least 16 rushing attempts in game without gaining at least 10 yards. Before Sunday, the most recent had been Rudi Johnson, who netted 9 yards on 17 carries in the Cincinnati Bengals’ 24-21 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sep. 23, 2007.
The most recent player in franchise history who had at least four receptions in a game without gaining more than 1 yard had been Earl Campbell, who had four receptions for minus-8 yards in the Houston Oilers’ 23-21 victory over the Seahawks on Sept. 19, 1982.
With 10 yards from scrimmage to show for his 20 touches on Sunday, Henry became the first NFL player recorded since 1933 to have that many combined rushing attempts and receptions and fail to gain more than 10 yards.
Henry has an average of 3.8 yards per carry during the 2023 season after averaging 4.8 yards per carry in the first seven years of his career. That’s even though he’s had three 100-yard games in which he has averaged more than 4.5 yards per carry and a 12-carry, 97-yard performance this season.
“I put a lot on myself,” Henry said. “I feel like I could be better and do a lot of things better. But at the end of the day, this is what it is. I’m always going to continue to work to improve, never going to point the finger, never going to blame anybody else. If anything, I’m going to criticize myself before I do anybody else. That’s just what it is this year.
“I seen a quote from a guy from the Detroit Pistons when he said when you work hard for something, you might not get the reward right away, but you just got to keep working and believe that it’ll eventually happen. That’s what I’m going to continue to do. I’m going to continue to work hard and do the best that I can each and every day I step on the field. And when I’m away from it, just continue to work, knowing that eventually what I want to happen will happen.”
The Titans return to the field at noon CST Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks visit Nashville. Henry will enter that game with 884 yards and 10 touchdowns on 230 rushing attempts and 203 yards on 27 receptions in 2023.
Tennessee visits the Texans on Dec. 31 and closes the season on Jan. 7 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in what could be Henry’s final home game with the Titans.
“We felt like we had a chance to being close to slipping in if we won out,” Henry said. “It’s tough, knowing that it’s three left. There’s definitely a sour taste in your mouth. But at the end of the day, got three games left. Try the best that we can to go win those and end the season on a positive note.”