King Henry running wild in the postseason, carrying Titans
King Henry is running wild in the postseason.
Derrick Henry has the Tennessee Titans one step away from an unlikely trip to the Super Bowl.
They got this far because their running back has been unstoppable. Henry has led the Titans to a pair of upset wins on the road, becoming the first player with two games of 175 yards rushing or more in the same postseason.
He rushed for 182 yards and a touchdown in a win at New England in the wild-card game and followed up with a franchise-record 195 yards rushing in Tennessee’s win over No. 1 seed Baltimore in the divisional round.
Henry is 123 yards away from joining John Riggins (610 yards rushing in 1982) and Terrell Davis (581 in 1997) as the only players with at least 500 rushing yards in a single postseason in NFL history.
Henry, who led the NFL with 1,540 yards rushing in the regular season, is trying to join Davis, Emit Smith and Shaun Alexander as the only rushing leaders to reach the Super Bowl in the same season. Smith did it three times.
Henry also has tossed a 3-yard
jump pass for a touchdown against Baltimore, the first TD pass by a running back in the playoffs since Minnesota’s Allen Rice did it in 1987. LIMITED WORK Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill led the NFL with a 117.5 passer rating in the regular season but hasn’t been asked to throw much in the playoffs. He has only 15 completions in two wins. Tannehill joined Terry Bradshaw as the only players in the Super Bowl era to win consecutive playoff games with at least one pass TD and fewer than 100 pass yards in each game. K.C.’S COMEBACK The Chiefs needed a remarkable comeback to reach the AFC championship game for the second straight season, becoming the first team in NFL history to overcome a 24-point, first-half deficit and enter halftime tied or leading. They were up 28-24 on their way to a 51-31 victory over the Titans. No other team has won a playoff game by at least 20 points after trailing by 20 points. MAHOMES MAGIC Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes joined Doug Williams as the only players with at least four TD passes in a single quarter in playoff history. Mahomes is the first player with at least 300 yards passing, five TDs and 50 yards rushing in a playoff game. TOUCHDOWN TRAVIS Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had three TD catches in the second quarter to become the first player with three TDs receiving in quarter in a playoff game in the Super Bowl era. ANDY’S BACK Chiefs coach Andy Reid is 1-5 in conference titles game, including 1-3 at home. He was 1-4 in Philadelphia, 1-2 at home. The Chiefs lost to the Patriots at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC title game last year. SIXTH SEEDS The Titans are trying to become the third No. 6 seed to reach the Super Bowl. The 2005 Steelers and 2010 Packers not only got there, but also won. WELL DONE, ROOK Packers coach Matt LaFleur is the first head coach to reach a conference championship in his first season since Jim Harbaugh led San Francisco to the NFC title game in the 2011 season. LaFleur is trying to become the sixth rookie coach to advance to a Super Bowl. TITLETOWN The Packers are two wins away from tying New England for the most postseason victories. Green Bay has 35 wins, including four Super Bowl victories.