NFL News and Notes: Derrick Henry, Ryan Tannehill Keep Titans Unbeaten

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We are back with the NFL news and notes for week 6 in the league. This past weekend saw three teams remain undefeated, two get their first win, and the Jets stay winless. As always, we got to see some big games from some big names and some stinkers as well.

Sunday saw the Houston Texans going to Nashville to face the unbeaten Tennessee Titans. As has been the case all year long, Tennessee got off to a fast start behind MVP candidate, Ryan Tannehill. He would take control early and led the Titans to a 14-0 first-quarter lead. By the half, it was 21-7 and the game looked like a blowout in the making.

Deshaun Watson and the Texans had other plans as they came out and scored the next 16 points to take a 23-21 lead going into the fourth quarter. This was accomplished with a momentum that seemed to favor Houston going into the final quarter. Watson and the Houston offense was just clicking with Watson throwing for one score and RB, David Johnson scoring from four yards out.

But, in the fourth, Tennessee took over at their own four-yard line with pressure to score and all the momentum on the side of the Texans. On first down, Derrick Henry took the handoff and cut right to a hole he saw. That hole would provide all the daylight he needed and he would go 94 yards to make it 29-23 Titans. The run would put Henry over the 200-yard mark for the third time since 2018. To put that into the proper perspective, there have been just three backs to do it in the same time frame in the entire NFL.

DERRICK HENRY 94-YARD TOUCHDOWN RUN! @KingHenry_2

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— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2020

Houston would get the ensuing kickoff and march right down the field and capped the drive off with a 53-yard strike from Watson to Will Fuller to make it 30-29 Texans. That was followed up by a Watson one-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Cooks to give Houston a 36-29 lead with 1:50 left in the game. All they had to do at this point was to kick the extra point to give them an eight-point lead. That lead would force Tennessee to not only score a touchdown but also convert the two-point conversion just to tie the game. Instead, Texans head coach, Romeo Crennell, decided he would go for two and his team failed to convert it.

So now, it was up to Tannehill and the Titans to come down the field and tie the game. What happened next was a drive that put Tannehill into the MVP conversation, in my opinion. He would play as cool as the other side of the pillow marching his team down the field for the tying score. On the drive, he went 8-9 for 76 yards that ended with a beauty of a pass in the left corner that AJ Brown hauled in to bring the Titans to within one. The play was reviewed because the question was whether Brown was able to get both feet down before going out of bounds. The touchdown stood and the extra point tied the game at 36 going into overtime.

You could just feel that the team that got the ball in the extra period would win the game. So when the Titans won the toss, the stage was set for a great finish to this battle. On second and eight from their own 20, Tannehill hit Henry coming out of the backfield. 53 yards later Tennessee had the ball first and ten at the Houston 27.

A few plays later it was third and goal at the Houston five and the Titans set up in the wildcat with Henry taking the snap. It was a down where a pass play seemed to be the right call, but with the way the Titans had run the ball, it turned out to be the right call. Henry would take the snap, go left, and power his way into the end zone for the 42-36 win.

Tennesse is now 5-0 and stays at home with a chance to go to 6-0. In order to accomplish this feat, they must face another unbeaten team in the Pittsburgh Steelers. A team that has been playing the same kind of football with their veteran quarterback Ben Rothlisberger. It should be the game of the week and could be one of the best games of this NFL season.

Game stats

Tannehill would finish with a QB rating of 122.4 going 30-41 for 364 yards and four touchdowns. Henry would take over the NFL rushing lead with 22 carries for 212 yards and two touchdowns. He would add 52 yards on two catches to give him 264 total yards for the game. AJ Brown continues to be a monster for this team with a big catch after big catch. He would finish this game with five catches for 56 yards while his teammate, Anthony Firkser had a big game with eight grabs for 113 yards. The Titans would also finish the game with 601 yards of offense. A far cry from the offense that has plagued this team in past years.

We will be back next with our NFL News and Notes.