(SportsRadio 610) - The Texans' run defense has undergone a miraculous metamorphosis in DeMeco Ryans' first season as coach, but will it be enough to prevent Tennessee running back Derrick Henry from reaching triple digits against them for the first time since 2019?
Henry is the Texans' nemesis in this AFC South series that continues on Sunday in Nashville, where the Texans (7-6) are desperate to win to remain in the playoff race. In his last five games against the Texans, Henry has averaged 203.6 yards and 7.1 a carry.
During that stretch in which Henry has been guilty of assault and battery against the Texans, he's pulverized them with games of 211, 212, 250, 219 and 126 yards. The last time he didn't rush for at least 100 yards against them was the first game of the 2019 season when he generated 86 in a Texans' 24-21 victory.
"He's a great player who's been very consistent," Ryans said Wednesday. "You talk about a guy who's a very big running back (6-3, 247) and (very) physical. (He) runs with the right mindset, a physical demeanor. (I) really love his playstyle, and how he carries the ball sticks out (compared to) other backs around the league."
Like Ryans, Henry played at Alabama. He was a second-round pick in 2016 who carried 18 times for 74 yards and one touchdown in his two games against the Texans as a rookie. His first 100-yard game against them was in 2017 when he carried 11 times for 109 yards – a 9.9 average – and one touchdown. Then Henry went three games against the Texans without a 100-yard performance before erupting for 211 in the second game in 2019.
This season, the Titans are 5-8 and coming off an incredible 28-27, come-from-behind victory at Miami, where Henry ran for two touchdowns.
He's rushed for 875 yards this season and has scored six touchdowns in his last three games. He joined LaDainian Tomlinson and Adrian Peterson as the only backs in NFL history to rush for at least 10 touchdowns in six consecutive seasons.
"He's trying to finish you with bad intentions," Ryans said about Henry's dominating style. "He's definitely a challenge for us. It's going to take multiple hats at the ball. You've got to have multiple guys wrapping him up and trying to get him down because he's such a physical runner."
When Henry lines up at Nissan Stadium, where quarterback Davis Mills led the Texans to a 19-14 victory last season, he's going to see a run defense that's been transformed with Ryans calling the plays. The only thing the Texans did well in Sunday's 30-6 loss to the Jets was stop the run, allowing 79 yards.
The last time Henry got a look at the Texans in that 2022 defeat, they were 32nd against the run, giving up an astounding 170.2 yards a game, including 5.1 a carry. Only four starters from that game – tackle Maliek Collins, linebacker Christian Harris, cornerback Steven Nelson and safety Jalen Pitre – started in the Jets defeat.
Henry should be impressed with what the Texans have done to their run defense with so many additions in free agency and trading up to get end Will Anderson Jr. with the third overall pick. The Texans are eighth against the run, surrendering 95.6 yards a game. They've limited opponents to 3.6 a carry, the second-fewest yards in the NFL.
A deeper dive into the run defense over the last eight games shows the Texans have surrendered 85.1 yards and 3.3 a carry. During that stretch, subtract the rushing totals of quarterbacks Kyler Murray (51 yards) and Russell Wilson (44) in victories over the Cardinals and Broncos, and those averages drop to 73.2 yards and 3 a carry.
"Our run defense starts up front with our line, especially our interior guys," Ryans said. "If they do a good job of resetting the line of scrimmage, it makes the job a lot easier for the guys on the second level to fill in."
Collins, Sheldon Rankins, Khalil Davis and Kurt Hinish are the four tackles who are supposed to clog the middle. Anderson and Jonathan Greenard, who has a career-high 10 sacks, do an outstanding job on the outside when it comes to containment.
"It's how you set the edges," Ryans said. "Not allowing the ball to get outside, and that's the challenge this week. They do have a lot of outside zone, where they try to get Henry on the edge and make the corners tackle. The primary job is for our ends to do a great job of setting the edge and funneling the ball back inside and see how many hats we can get swarming to the football. If we do that, it'll allow us to play good run defense."
But there are other problems besides Henry when it comes to the Titans' running game. Rookie quarterback Will Levis is 3-3 as a starter after engineering the amazing comeback at Miami, and he's not afraid to run. And rookie Tyjae Spears, a third-round pick from Tulane, comes off the bench and averages 5.8 yards a carry and has 66 catches for 329 yards and a touchdown. He had six receptions for 89 yards against the Dolphins.
"I liked Tyjae (in) this last draft," Ryans said. "(I) really liked his playstyle. Very quick back (who's) a change-of-pace guy when it comes to him and Derrick. He's explosive in the passing game. That's where Tyjae sticks out.
"He's a matchup problem on third down. You have to (have) tight coverage on him. And it's not just short routes. He has the ability to hit the deep routes, too. He's a playmaker. You can see them getting him more carries and getting him more involved in the offense because of his dynamic style."
The Texans will have to do a lot more than contain Henry and Spears to bounce back from the Jets' loss, but limiting the running game to fewer than 100 yards would be a great place to start if they're going to avoid a second consecutive defeat at this crucial time of the season.
John McClain can be heard Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on SportsRadio 610 and Monday, Thursday and Sunday on Texans Radio, also on SportsRadio 610. He writes five columns a week and does three Houtopia Football Podcasts for SportsRadio610.com.
