Stopping Derrick Henry and Other Keys to a Chiefs Win

The importance of the Chiefs' game plan on Sunday cannot be overstated as the Titans come rolling into town.

The Kansas City Chiefs will host the Tennessee Titans this weekend in a matchup that will be featured on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, pitting two of the top three teams in the AFC against each other.

Coming into Week 9 of the NFL season, the Titans are the second-best team in the AFC thanks to a better conference record than the Chiefs. However, Kansas City is a double-digit favorite to win this game.

As is the case every week against the Titans, priority No. 1 needs to be stopping their best offensive weapon, Derrick Henry. Despite an injury that knocked him out of the second half of last season, Henry continues to look like one of the strongest running backs in the NFL with no signs of slowing down this year.

In 2022, Henry has rushed for 755 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, both rank third-best in the NFL near the halfway point of the season. He has four consecutive 100-yard rushing games and ran for over 200 yards last week against the Houston Texans.

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo agrees that stopping Henry is extremely important. “King Henry, they call him, right?” he said this week. “He’s the king of the run game and a big challenge for us because he’s a big (running) back. You can’t simulate that in practice, right? So, you just got to hope that your foundation of what you’ve done up to this point allows you to tackle him. (We) got to find a way to get him on the ground. Look, it’s – everybody does the exact same thing, it’s not a secret."

Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill missed last week’s game due to an injury and rookie Malik Willis got his first NFL start. Tannehill is questionable for Sunday's game, but Spagnuolo is expecting him to play. Tannehill can pose problems through the air, but with some uncertainty surrounding who will be starting at quarterback, the Titans will once again likely be leaning heavily on Henry this Sunday no matter who ends up being the signal-caller.

For what it’s worth, the Chiefs have generally done well in holding Henry below his season averages in their most recent meetings.

Last year the Titans beat the Chiefs 27-3, but Henry was held to 86 yards on 29 carries. When the Chiefs beat the Titans in the AFC Championship Game in January 2020, they held him to 69 yards on 19 carries. The last time Henry went off on the Chiefs was way back in November of 2019 when he rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-32 Titans win.

Holding Henry in check isn’t the end-all-be-all, but it certainly helps if the Chiefs' defense can keep the Titans' best player from succeeding. Getting a consistent push up front will be key, and linebackers Nick Bolton and Willie Gay Jr. will need to attack at the next level to make sure Henry is limited in getting yards after contact.

Last year, the Chiefs' offense couldn’t get in the end zone when they faced the Titans. That was the first time a team led by Patrick Mahomes scored fewer than seven points in a game.

"Yeah, you got to be ready to play," Mahomes said. "Last year we weren’t ready, and they beat our (butts), so we got to make sure that we are ready to go and that it’s going to be a physical matchup. We’re going to have to go out there and play our best football. This is a team that is a lot better than I think a lot of people out on social media and in media – they don’t really talk about them. But we know that it’s a great football team coming to town. We have to play our best football.” It sure seems like Mahomes and the offense will have a little extra motivation heading into this game.

Coming off a bye week typically brings positive results to Andy Reid-led teams. Playing in prime time typically brings out the best in Mahomes. Adding the revenge factor into the mix could form a recipe for a big win for the Chiefs.

It starts on the defensive side of the ball by stopping Henry from making big plays and not allowing him to get into the end zone. Without defensive end Frank Clark, the duo of Carlos Dunlap and rookie George Karlaftis will need to step up. Chris Jones will need to continue to play like one of the best defensive tackles in the league, and the young secondary will get Trent McDuffie back and potentially continue to jell as a unit.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Chiefs can put the game away by continuing to succeed with a high percentage efficiency on third downs and scoring touchdowns in the red zone. Will rookies Isiah Pacheco and rookie Skyy Moore be more involved in the offense post-bye? How will new addition wide receiver Kadarius Toney fit into the mix? No matter the pieces surrounding him, Mahomes will be ready to roll come game time.

A loss would leave the Chiefs with more questions than answers heading into the second half of the season. A win, on the other hand, would put them on pace to finish second place in the AFC for a second consecutive season. For the sake of the team, they'll be hoping that the latter outcome on Sunday comes to fruition.