Henry runs wild, Titans hand Jags 12th straight loss
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Derrick Henry ran for 215 yards and two touchdowns, his best performance in five trips to his hometown area, and the Tennessee Titans dominated Jacksonville 31-10 on Sunday and handed the Jaguars a 12th consecutive loss.
It was Henry's fourth game with at least 200 yards and two scores, setting an NFL record that he previously held with Hall of Famers Jim Brown, Barry Sanders and LaDainian Tomlinson.
Henry also topped the century mark for the ninth consecutive road game, leaving him one shy of the NFL mark set by Sanders over the 1996 and 1997 seasons.
Enjoying a big performance about 25 miles from his hometown of Yulee was something new for Henry. He hadn’t reached triple digits rushing in any of his four previous games in Jacksonville. He managed just 13 yards as a rookie in 2016, followed by outings of 92, 57 and 44 yards in front of friends and family.
He didn’t even need a full half to surpass all those outings Sunday against the Jaguars (1-12).
Henry had 170 yards on 17 carries in the first 30 minutes, including a 36-yard touchdown run. He added a 47-yard scamper early in the third as the Titans (9-4) started to pull away.
Tennessee scored 17 points in less than four minutes spanning the second and third quarters. Following’s Henry’s first score, the Titans forced a punt and quickly moved into position for Stephen Gostkowski’s 53-yard field goal on the final play of the half.
Tennessee got the ball to start the third and piled on, with Ryan Tannehill finding tight end Geoff Swaim for a 5-yard score.
Mike Glennon threw an interception on the ensuing possession, and the rout was on. Malcolm Butler picked off Glennon’s pass, and Henry found the end zone five plays later to give the Titans at least 30 points for the fifth consecutive week.
AFC South-leading Tennessee clinched its fifth consecutive winning season and moved a step closer to securing a playoff berth.
Jaguars coach Doug Marrone benched Glennon following his fourth turnover (plus a safety) in six quarters and turned to Gardner Minshew for the first time since Week 7. Minshew missed several weeks with a right thumb injury, but even after being deemed fully healthy, he remained on the bench behind Glennon.
Minshew immediately led Jacksonville to a touchdown, capping his first drive in nearly two months with a 5-yard throw to Keelan Cole. It was too little too late.
ROOKIE RECOGNITION
Jaguars running back James Robinson became the first rookie in NFL history to top 1,000 yards in the first 14 weeks of a season. Robinson accomplished the feat with a 47-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
He also became the fourth undrafted rookie in NFL history to reach 1,000 yards rushing, joining Indianapolis’ Dominic Rhodes (1,104 in 2001), Denver’s Phillip Lindsay (1,037 in 2018) and Tampa Bay’s LeGarrette Blount (1,007 in 2010).
KEY INJURIES
Titans: Linebacker Tuzar Skipper was ruled out with an elbow injury in the second half. Center Ben Jones hobbled off the field in the first half but later returned.
Jaguars: Safety Josh Jones left the field with a shoulder injury and was later ruled out.
UP NEXT
Titans: Host Detroit next Sunday.
Jaguars: Play at Baltimore next Sunday, facing defensive linemen Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue for the first time since trading both in the offseason.
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