Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans: Friday Fact or Fiction
By Daniel Lago
Derrick Henry will rush for 75+ yards and 1+ touchdowns: FACT
There are two “homecomings” of sort this Saturday: Mike Mularkey returns to the city where he was forced to start one of the worst quarterbacks in the history of the NFL before being unceremoniously firedd, and college sensation Derrick Henry comes back to where he used to dominate high school football teams.
Both guys will leave happy.
When the Titans drafted Henry in the second round, it was part of the “exotic smashmouth” playing style Mularkey was hoping to implement in Tennessee. Initially a punchline, Mularkey’s proposed style has actually worked out to the point where the Titans are the favorite to win the AFC South. Derrick Henry hasn’t carried the ball a lot thanks to the high-level of production provided by DeMarco Murray, but the rookie bruiser has flashed Pro Bowl ability when he’s gotten the chance.
This week, I think Mularkey will favor Henry a bit more than Murray for two reasons – it’s prudent to let Murray rest a bit for a potential playoff run, and Henry should be able to run roughshod against the Jaguars.
The Jaguars haven’t faced many quality rushing teams, but they’ve struggled at times against elite running backs. Henry should be able to break at least one big run this week and I think he gets the nod at the goalline too. He should get a score and pile up some impressive yardage.