Derrick Henry wasn’t thinking about making history. At least until a teammate suggested it.
The Titans running back matched Tony Dorsett for the longest touchdown run in league history, with his 99-yard scamper which helped the Titans to a 30-9 win over the Jaguars.
“It’s so crazy because when we were in the huddle, they were like, ‘You got to break it 99 yards,’” Henry said, via Turron Davenport of ESPN.com. “My main focus was to get positive yards. I just saw it and I hit it. My stiff-arm was working. It started up front with those guys.”
And to think, it almost started with quarterback sneak, as Marcus Mariota said the play-call had a built-in option for him to keep himself to plow ahead for a bit of space, or hand it to Henry for an outside zone run.
“It was incredible. There is nothing like it,” Mariota said. “It looked like he got bottled up, and then he found his way out of it. Once that guy gets into the open field, he’s so hard to bring down. It’s a treat to watch.”
Most of the yardage came after contact, as Henry stiff-armed his way past a couple of Jaguars in a most disrespectful manner.
He finished the game with 238 rushing yards, which broke the franchise record of Chris Johnson (228 in 2009).