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titanfan8 · 2 years

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For this month of March i have chosen running backs as the Titans position group to look back on and we’ve had some good ones.

No other team over the past quarter century has had more dominance at the running back position like the Tennessee Titans.

Their three best runners have all done some big things in their careers.

Eddie George never missed a game in his career and gained over 10,000 career yards.

In seven out of eight seasons he went over 1000 yards and once went over 1500 yards in 2000 on 403 carries.

Chris Johnson gained over 2,000 yards in 2009 and still holds the NFL record for most yards gained from scrimmage in a season.

Derrick Henry also had a 2,000 yard season along with having five straight seasons with a TD run over 70 yards.

Besides these three running backs the Titans have had some other talented runners on their roster over the years including Rodney Thomas,Lorenzo Neal,Skip Hicks,Chris Brown,Troy Fleming,Robert Holcombe,Antowain Smith,Travis Henry,LenDale White,Shonn Greene,Antonio Andrews,Demarco Murray,D'Onta Foreman,etc.

Lorenzo Neal played two seasons in Tennessee in 1999 and 2000 and was the best blocker Eddie George had in his career with Titans.

Skip Hicks played one year for the Titans in 2001

Eddie George though was the Titans best running back from 1999 through 2003 a five year period where Tennessee won more games than any team in the NFL going to the postseason four times playing in two AFC championship Games and a Super Bowl....

Chris Brown played five years from 2003 through 2007 but only had one 1000 yard seasons rushing which came in 2004.

Travis Henry played two seasons for the Titans and had over 1000 yards rushing in 2006 which included a 70 yard TD run against Philly.

One of the most surprising draft picks was in 2008 when the Titans picked Chris Johnson one year after picking another RB Chris Henry in the second round and although they didn't get much out of Henry the Titans weren't nervous at all about picking another RB with a high draft pick.

Johnson was drafted by the Titans with the 24th pick in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft and at that time had just ran a 4.24 at the combine which made him the fastest player in NFL history.

In his very first preseason game everyone got a glimpse of what was in store for the future as Johnson had a 66 yard TD run against the St. Louis Rams.

For 2008 Johnson had 1,228 yards rushing and led the Titans to a 13-3 record which was the best in the NFL that year.

Then came all the record setting plays and games.

CJ broke Marshall Faulk’s record for most yardage from scrimmage in a season when he gained a total of 2,509 yards total and it is still an NFL record today.

CJ also became the first and only player to rush for over 2,000 yards and also have over 500 yards receiving in the same season.

Chris Johnson then ran for 50+ yards, 60+ yards and 90+ yards all in one game in 2009.

In that 2009 week two game against the Texans he had a 57-yard TD run, a 69-yard TD reception, and a 91-yard TD run and became the only player in NFL history with a touchdown of 50 yards, 60 yards, and 90 yards in one game.

He then ran 80+ yards in three different games in 2009 another new NFL record as that was the most 80+ yard plays ever by a RB in one season.

CJ also has a total of 6 runs over 80+ yards another NFL record no other NFL running back has that many in a career.

Johnson was also the first RB in NFL history with 6 consecutive games of 125+ rushing yards and a 5.0+ yards per carry average

He was the NFL rushing leader in 2009 and also was voted the NFL Offensive Player of the Year as well.

To start the 2010 NFL season, the Titans took on the Raiders in Tennessee and CJ scored on a 76-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Johnson finished with 142 yards on 27 carries with a yard per carry average of 5.3 yards to bring his streak of 100-yard rushing games to 12.

Overall, he finished the 2010 season with 1,364 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.

CJ was voted to his third straight NFL Pro Bowl after the 2010 season.

On September 1, 2011 Johnson became the highest paid running back in the NFL, agreeing to a four-year, $53.5 million contract extension, including $30 million guaranteed, with the Titans.

For the 2011 season he finished with 1,047 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Against Buffalo in 2012 CJ ran for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns on only 18 carries. With an 83-yard touchdown run, Johnson broke an NFL record with his fourth rushing touchdown of 80 yards or more.

The Titans won the game 35-34 over the Bills and afterwards CJ’s shoes were sent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A few weeks later against the Chicago Bears CJ ran for an 80-yard touchdown, extending his record with his fifth 80-yard touchdowns. He finished with 16 carries for 141 yards.

In week 15 on Monday Night Football Johnson had a franchise-record 94-yard touchdown run, the longest of his career and the second longest in Monday Night Football history. He finished with 122 yards on 21 carries. The Titans beat the Jets 14-10.

The 94 yard TD run was CJ’s sixth career run over 80 yards which was another NFL record and also it was the second time he had 3 TD runs over 80 yards in a season which was another NFL record.

For his career CJ had four TD runs over 85 yards another NFL record.

Overall, he finished the 2012 season with 1,243 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.

Johnson’s last year with Tennessee in 2013 he had 1,077 yards rushing.

From 2008 through 2013 CJ had six straight seasons where he rushed for over 1,000 yards.

After CJ was let go the Titans had a couple lean seasons at the RB position but in 2016 the new GM Jon Robinson signed Demarco Murray in free agency and drafted Derrick Henry in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Murray did really well the two seasons he played in Tennessee running the ball 477 carries with 1946 yards and 15 TDs averaging 4 yards per carry.

Murray's longest run in 2016 was a 75 yard TD run on the Titans first offensive play from scrimmage against the Packers in a game where Tennessee blew Green Bay out 47-25.

The next season Murray again did well with his longest run being a 75 yard TD run.

Henry’s first two seasons he split carries with RB Demarco Murray.

NFL teams were weary of picking running backs from Bama becuse many of them didn’t pan out which is why Henry lasted as long as he did before getting picked but those teams would eventually regret not picking Henry.

On October 16, 2017, on Monday Night Football was when Henry truly started to make his presence felt as he ran for a then career-best 131 yards on 19 carries, including a 72-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter of the 36–22 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

On December 3, 2017, Henry ran for 109 yards on 11 carries and beat his longest rush of the year with a 75-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter of the 24–13 victory over the Houston Texans.

In the Titans final regular season game against the Jaguars in Nashville, Henry caught his first receiving touchdown on a 66-yard reception in a 15–10 victory that helped Tennessee clinch a playoff spot.

DeMarco Murray was out with a knee injury for the Titans playoff game at Kansas City, Henry got the start.

In a 22–21 road victory, Henry had the best performance of his career up to that point, rushing for 156 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and catching two passes for 35 yards. His 191 yards-from-scrimmage was a franchise record.

Murray was let go after the 2017 season and another RB Dion Lewis was signed to split carries with Henry for the 2018 season.

On December 6 2018 in a home game against the Jaguars Henry exploded for a 238 yard rushing performance along with 4 TDs.

In the second quarter of the game against the Jaguars, Henry had a 99-yard touchdown run, fending off three tacklers, giving him the longest TD run in NFL history and tying him with former Cowboys RB Tony Dorsett who is the only other player to have a 99 yard TD run which took place in January 1983 against Minnesota.

The 238 yards rushing was a new franchise record breaking the 228 yards Chris Johnson had set in 2009.

Henry also became the ninth player in NFL history to record a 200+ yard and 4+ touchdown game, and the first to do so on fewer than 22 carries.

His 238 rushing yards were the most by any player for a single game for the 2018 season. Henry was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Henry finished the 2018 season with 1,059 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.

During a home game against the Jaguars in Week 12 of the 2019 season, Henry had a 74-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter.

Overall, he finished the 42–20 victory with 159 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

During the regular-season finale at Houston against the Texans Henry finished with 211 rushing yards and three touchdowns as the Titans won 35–14 and made it to the playoffs as a Wild Card team.

Henry was the NFL leading rusher in 2019 with 1,540 yards and 16 touchdowns.

The Titans would travel to New England to play the Patriots in the wild card round of the playoffs.

Henry rushed for over 100 yards and a touchdown in the first half, finishing with 182 yards (the most ever against a Bill Belichick coached team, and the third most ever in a postseason road game) and a 22-yard reception in a 20–13 road victory over the Patriots.

Henry became the first rushing champion with a 100-yard playoff game since Terrell Davis in 1998, the first to win a playoff game since LaDanian Tomlinson in 2007, and the second Titan with multiple post-season 100+ rushing games. He also broke his own franchise record for most yards-from-scrimmage with 204.

During the divisional round against Baltimore, Henry rushed 30 times for 195 yards and threw a three-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Corey Davis in the 28–12 road victory.

Henry became the second player in NFL history with three postseason games with at least 150 rushing yards, joining Terrell Davis, who had four. In addition, he became the only player with at least 175 rushing yards in consecutive games. Davis is the only other with two such games in a career.

In the AFC Championship against Kansas City he rushed 19 times for 69 yards and a touchdown in the 35–24 road loss.

Henry signed a new four-year $50 million contract with Tennessee before the 2020 season.

In a 2020 Week Six home game against the Texans Henry finished with 212 rushing yards, 52 receiving yards, and two touchdowns (including a 94-yard rushing touchdown). In overtime, he finished the game with a five-yard touchdown to end the game as the Titans won 42–36.

Henry was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in Week Six. He was also named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for October after racking up 399 scrimmage yards with 344 yards rushing and five touchdowns.

In Week 17 rematch at Houston, Henry rushed for a career-high 250 rushing yards and two touchdowns during the 41–38 road victory.

During the game, Henry became the eighth running back in NFL history to surpass 2,000 rushing yards and was the second Titans RB to go over 2,000 rushing yards as Chris Johnson did so as well in 2009.

Henry finished 2020 with 2,027 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns and for the second year in a row lead the NFL in rushing.

Henry was also named the 2020 NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

During Week Two of the 2021 season at Seattle Henry finished with 182 rushing yards, 55 receiving yards, and three rushing touchdowns as the Titans won 33–30 in overtime. Henry earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 2.

In Week 6, Henry ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-31 win over the Bills, earning his second AFC Offensive Player of the Week honor of the year which included a 76 yard TD run.

Henry set an NFL record as every year from 2017 through 2021 for five straight seasons he had a TD run of 74 yards or longer.

During a Week 8 win at Indy Henry suffered an injury a Jones fracture that would end up sidelining him for the remainder of the regular season.

Henry finished 2021 with 937 yards rushing and 10 TDs.

Henry was activated off injured reserve on January 21, 2022, for the team’s divisional round playoff game against Cincinnati.

In his return, Henry had 20 carries for 62 yards along with a rushing touchdown in the Titans’ 19–16 loss.

In a week eight victory at Houston Henry broke Eddie George’s record for total TDs when he scored his 75th touchdown when he scored from one yard out.

For his career so far he has 8335 yards rushing and 78 TDs rushing.

The Titans are the only NFL team that has had two 2,000 yard rushers.

There have been only 5 RBs in NFL history with 10 or more TD runs over 50 yards they are Adrian Peterson,Barry Sanders,Jim Brown along with Chris Johnson and Derrick Henry.

Two of those five RBs were Titans.

Has longest run in NFL history at 99 yards a record shared with Tony Dorsett

Henry is the first player in NFL history with 180+ rushing yards in three consecutive games and first player to have 180+ rushing yards in consecutive playoff games

Henry is also the first player to record a 200+-yard and 4+-touchdown game on fewer than 22 carries

Henry also has the most rushing yards in first 4 playoff games with 561 yards.

Henry now has 6 career games with 200 rushing yards & 2 rushing TDs another NFL record

Henry was the fourth player in NFL history with three games of at least 175 yards and three rushing TDs in first five seasons. The others? Jim Brown, LaDanian Tonlinson and Adrian Peterson.

In October 2021 Derrick Henry became the first NFL RB since Jim Brown (three) in 1958 to have multiple 100-yard, 3-TD rushing performances within a team’s first five games of a season.

Henry already has 13 runs over 50+ yards in his career and 5 over 70+ yards.

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