Tennessee Titans: Derrick Henry or not, the season is not over
The Tennessee Titans strolled into Los Angeles and dominated the Rams despite not having Derrick Henry, emphasizing that they are not done just yet.
Can anyone find Stephen A. Smith and show video footage of the Tennessee Titans, without Derrick Henry, go into Los Angeles and take out the Rams? Keep in mind; he was among the loud voices who proclaimed that without the all-pro running back, the season would be over for Nashville’s troops.
Safe to say, a prisoner of the moment situation occurred, and Smith’s take backfired rather embarrassingly after Sunday Night Football.
With Adrian Peterson taking over backfield duties, Tennessee struck down their doubters, at least for now, with a 28-16 win over Los Angeles. At 7-2, Mike Vrabel’s unit looks like a team on a mission to prove that they are not a one-trick pony.
Tennessee Titans: Derrick Henry or not, the season is not over
Sure, Week 9 was a wild one in the NFL, with several upsets taking place, including Denver dominating Dallas, which had Smith in a jubilant mood, shockingly. Jacksonville taking down Buffalo was rather stunning, as was the Giants having their way with Vegas. This game, however, had a different story.
Henry’s mere presence in the Titans lineup forces teams to stack the box, allowing the outside receivers to take advantage of the situation. Peterson, on the other hand, is an aging veteran. With Henry out, the plan must change. Still, Peterson had his moments against the Rams, finding the endzone for the 125th time in his career. This time, Tennessee did not come up a yard short.
Ryan Tannehill was largely pedestrian as he has mostly been throughout his Titans, but very effective nonetheless, throwing for 143 yards and a touchdown and interception on 70.3% passing. On the other hand, Matthew Stafford produced 294 passing yards with a touchdown and two picks, one going for a pick-six by Kevin Byard.
The Tennessee Titans will be fine without Derrick Henry if they continue to tailor their scheme around their current arsenal.
The Rams, although struggling early on, looked like they had the upper hand as the favorite going in. But in two consecutive plays, all momentum washed away faster than the tropical storm of Jurassic Park. An early 3-0 lead for Los Angeles vanished, and Tennessee outscored the home team 28-13 the rest of the way.
David Long Jr. took the first turnover from Stafford courtesy of pressure by Jeffrey Simmons, a turnover eerily similar situation that of Carson Wentz’s blunder a week ago against, coincidentally, the Titans. Byard had the next pick and a date with the endzone. 14-point shift right away. Tannehill added a rushing touchdown late in the first half to increase the lead to 21-3.
The second half was largely a snooze as both teams were interlocked in a physical affair, but the visitors found themselves more comfortable as the game wore on. Though Sony Michel caught a TD pass with 24 seconds left in the game, it largely was an empty calorie score as the game had been decided long before.
So what do we take from this? For starters, anything is possible on any given Sunday, and paper doesn’t equate to results. Furthermore, controlling the line of scrimmage will forever be the reason for success. Offense is fun, fantastic, and exciting, but it can also be detrimental if the opposing team’s defense is playing at an inspired level.
Tennessee may have lost their best player, but their season is not over just yet, and neither is the Rams’ run. It’s one week, and as stated before, things can change, and anything can happen. Tennessee will be facing New Orleans while LA (7-2) is back in primetime next week against San Francisco. The NFL is unpredictable, regardless of how sure we may be in our opinions.