Tennessee’s defense prepares for a high-stakes reunion as they attempt to neutralize their former superstar by disrupting his momentum before he can reach the open field.
The Tennessee Titans are facing one of the toughest running backs in the NFL to stop on Sunday.
As fate would have it, it's going to be one of their very own, Derrick Henry. After spending eight years with the franchise, Henry was let go by the Titans at the end of the 2023 season.
He's been with the Baltimore Ravens during that time and hasn't changed one bit. He's still running over defenders and delivering powerful stiff arms to anyone brave enough to get close.
Henry currently leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns (6) and has 301 yards on the ground so far. The Ravens are coming off an electrifying 34-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
They are now back in the States to take on the Titans. Henry has already made it clear that he won't hold anything back, even though he still has a lot of love for his former franchise.
A couple of Titans players were asked what it would be like to see Henry again. It's going to be the first time that players like Jeffery Simmons have seen their former teammate.
This time, it's going to be with different uniforms on.
Simmons has a lot of respect for Henry but doesn't believe that the Titans need to treat him like any other running back. To stop him, Simmons thinks the Titans need to hit him before his feet get going.
"Just like with anybody else, we gotta hit him," Simmons said. "I mean, everybody know the respect I have for Derrick, you know, and what he had done for this franchise, but he's on the other side now. I mean, our job is to go in there and defeat the run game. We let him get going; I heard Mike Vrabel talking for about five years about letting him get into the fourth or fifth step, and good things happened. Our job up front, one of our keys this week, is to make him stop his feet, make him stutter his feet in the backfield. Quite frankly, what I talk about each week is that this game is won up front. The way we go, especially this weekend, is the way this team gonna go. If we disrupt the line of scrimmage, good things are gonna happen."
Simmons has made these kinds of predictions before this season.
He had a plan to stop Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Simmons said that the Titans needed to keep him in the pocket and force him to beat them with his arms, not his legs.
The Titans did that for the most part in Week 2. Emphasis on most part.
Hurts was pressured, and the Titans forced him into throwing two interceptions, one of which was almost returned for a touchdown the other way by Amani Hooker.
Marcus Harris intercepted Hurts in the fourth quarter, giving the Titans a chance to win the game.
The Titans settled for a field goal and not a touchdown. They gave the Eagles 1:56 to go down by a touchdown. Hurts got the better of the Titans on the final drive with a touchdown pass to Darius Cooper with nine seconds left.
It may not be as simple as Simmons said to stop Henry. Henry isn't built like your run-of-the-mill running back. Simmons makes it sound simple, but it won't be that easy to keep Henry from running all over the Titans.
We'll see, as the Titans face the Ravens at noon CT this Sunday on CBS.
