After big performance, can the Titans offensive line keep it up?
You saw Derrick Henry run 99 yards. You saw him stiff-arm two defenders along the way.
But you might not have noticed the wreckage left in his wake in Thursday's 30-9 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Nissan Stadium. That carnage was created by an invigorated Titans offensive line that paved the way for Henry's franchise-record 238-yard, fourtouchdown performance.
While Henry was racing down the field to tie an NFL record for longest touchdown run, no less than four Jaguars defenders had been pounded to the turf by Titans blockers at the point of attack. It was textbook smash mouth football. Henry's big night was sparked by holes created by an offensive line that had been maligned this season. The Titans ranked 17th in rushing yards per game at 112.7 before rolling for 264 against the Jags – the first 200-yard rushing game since Week 8 in 2016 against the same opponent – and were 29th in yards per attempt at 4.1. Against Jacksonville, Tennessee averaged 8.3 yards per carry on 32 attempts.
The up-front blocking produced 11 runs of five yards or more, with eight of those going for more than 10 yards and two for more than 50.
"I'm proud of the O-line," left tackle Taylor Lewan said. "We've taken a bunch of crap all year from people who probably don't know anything about ball.
"These guys know what we're capable of. That should be the standard every single week."
Until now, it hasn't. Or at least the Titans hadn't been able to put together this kind of dominant blocking performance. With a playoff berth still within reach, it will be up to the linemen and tight ends to sustain this kind of effort.
"When you get down to games in December and going into the playoffs, it comes down to who can run the ball, who can be the most physical," said tight end MyCole Pruitt, who engaged a Jacksonville defender on the 99-yard run and shoved him 20 yards down the field. "That's what we talked about all week, who can be the most physical.
"We came out here and we showed that we can be that. It's a big step for us."
That step came with some help from backup tackle Dennis Kelly, who substituted at left tackle when Lewan was briefly sidelined with a shoulder injury and later at right tackle when Jack Conklin left the field. While the 6-foot-8, 321pound Kelly was in, the Titans kept the momentum on the ground: Kelly set the edge on the right side to free Henry for his 54-yard scoring run in the third quarter.
"You try to keep it going," Kelly said. "If you have to go in for an injury, make sure that the offensive line and the offense as a whole continues to move. That's what I try to do."
The Titans also put their trust in left guard Quinton Spain, who had been benched mid-game the previous weekend against the New York Jets. He was back in the starting lineup against the Jags.
"Coach told me he had to make a game-time decision, so I just had to respect that and move on," Spain said.
The Titans have to move forward behind this line, which needs to keep paving the way.
"We've got to do it every week," center Ben Jones said. "If we just do it one time, it's not worth (expletive). We've got to take care of business every week."
Reach Tommy Deas at 615-259-8328 and on Twitter @tommydeas.