INDIANAPOLIS — Derrick Henry got right back to business against the Indianapolis Colts.
He took on some defenders by slamming his big body through the line of scrimmage, eluded others in the open field and even turned receptions into key first downs.
Yes, in Sunday’s matchup of NFL rushing champions, it was the two-time winner who reigned supreme.
The 6-foot-3, 247-pound running back nicknamed King Henry rushed for a season-high 114 yards, scored one touchdown and watched the Tennessee Titans’ defense make three late stops to preserve a 24-17 victory.
“Derrick ran hard, and I thought the coaches had a really good plan for how we were going to run the football,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “It wasn’t perfect, but that did look more like our running game.”
It was the healthiest the bruising Henry has looked since breaking a bone in his right foot in his previous trip to Indianapolis last October, an injury that may have cost him a third consecutive rushing crown. He wasn’t the same in Tennessee’s divisional-round playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in January or in the first three games this season as he averaged 3.4 yards per carry.
Yet the Titans (2-2) followed the familiar script by leaning heavily on Henry early, and he delivered with his fifth 100-yard game in the past six of this series and rode it to a franchise-record four straight against the Colts. The Titans improved to 11-2 against AFC South Division opponents since 2020.
And once again, all the Colts (1-2-1) could do was try to keep up. Three turnovers in the game and three missed scoring chances in the final 16 minutes were just too much to overcome. Indianapolis has one win in its past six games dating to last season.
“We feel like we’re seeing some things we want to see,” Colts coach Frank Reich said. “But in the end, we need to play better, we need to execute better, we need to stop turning the ball over, we need to start getting turnovers, we need to run the football a little bit better and start faster.”
Finding a way to keep Henry in check might help, too. He needed less than two quarters to top 100 yards and stake the Titans to a 24-3 lead against a defense that had allowed an average of 77 yards on the ground in the first three weeks.
Tennessee quarterback Ryan Tannehill took advantage of the first turnover, Indianapolis quarterback Matt Ryan’s ninth fumble of the season, with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Robert Woods. Henry extended the margin by making Brandon Facyson miss in the backfield and sprinting 19 yards for the score. After the teams traded field goals, Tannehill hooked up with Chig Okonkwo on an 8-yard touchdown pass.
Ryan finally answered with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Mo Alie-Cox late in the first half, and his 7-yarder to Alie-Cox cut the deficit to 24-17 midway through the third quarter.
Then the Titans stiffened on defense, sacking Ryan to knock the Colts out of field-goal range, recovering Jonathan Taylor’s fumble on another third down near the Tennessee 20-yard line and watching Chase McLaughlin’s 51-yard field-goal attempt sail wide left with 1:58 to play.
“That’s what you have to do, find ways to win,” Vrabel said. “We came up with some huge stops defensively when maybe we were not at our best. They kept fighting and competing.”
Henry’s 744 rushing yards in the 2021 regular season, despite missing nine games, were good for a top-1o finish among the league leaders. However, after going from 1,059 rushing yards in 2018 to 1,540 in 2019 and 2,027 in 2020, his extended absence gave Taylor a chance to take his crown.
Taylor rushed for 1,169 as a rookie two years ago, and his 1,811 in 2021 led the NFL. On Sunday, though, he had just 42 yards on 20 carries before leaving the game with an ankle injury. Afterward, he told reporters he would have to see how Monday went before he knew more about his availability for Thursday’s game against the Denver Broncos (2-2).
Ryan, the NFL MVP in the 2016 season when he led the Atlanta Falcons to the Super Bowl, has struggled with turnovers early in his first season since being traded to Indianapolis. He was 27-of-37 passing against Tennessee and threw his fifth interception of the season, and he also fumbled twice (though only one was lost).
With 13 games left, the 38-year-old quarterback is three short of matching his worst season total for fumbles. He has lost three of those fumbles, two shy of his career worst.
“I think you’ve just got to protect it better,” Ryan said. “It’s a very uncharacteristic four-game stretch for me. It’s something I’ve got to clean up and get better at. If we can put together a clean game, I think we can be very good.”
Tannehill was 17-of-21 for 137 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked three times.
Henry caught three passes for 33 yards as the Titans improved to 25-1 when he has at least 25 touches in a game.
Tennessee visits the Washington Commanders (1-3) next Sunday.