NASHVILLE – Derrick Henry is making it clear he only gets better the more times he gets the ball.
“I think I get in a rhythm the more carries I get,” Henry said. “I get a better feel for the game as the game goes on.”
The Tennessee Titans gave Henry more than 19 carries in a game just three times and more than 30 just once through his first three NFL seasons, but in the past three games Henry has run the ball 32, 34 and 30 times. He has set the franchise single-game playoff rushing record twice this postseason while helping Tennessee (11-7) into Sunday’s AFC championship game at Kansas City (13-4), the Titans’ first appearance in that round since the 2002 season.
Kickoff is set for 3:05 p.m. EST, and CBS will televise the game. In the NFC title matchup, the San Francisco 49ers (14-3) host the Green Bay Packers (14-3) at 6:40 p.m. EST on Fox. The Super Bowl is Feb. 2 in Miami Gardens, Fla.
The Titans are using the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry as a powerful battering ram, which is what Alabama coach Nick Saban did during the 2015 college football season, when Henry won the Heisman Trophy and helped the Crimson Tide finish as national champions. Saban told The Associated Press that Henry’s heavy workload in these NFL playoffs looks familiar – and that it suits the running back well.