Cowboys at Titans: Why Derrick Henry & Stars Might Sit Out

The Tennessee Titans may opt to rest their top players against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night.

The Dallas Cowboys kept alive their slim hopes of taking the NFC East division from the Philadelphia Eagles in their come-from-behind 37-34 win on Saturday.

At the same time, the Tennessee Titans hopes of winning their division are very much alive and will come down to one game. ... but that's the point at which the Cowboys and Titans paths differ.

Despite dropping five straight games, including their 19-14 loss to the NFL's worse Houston Texans, the Titans (7-8) must beat the Jacksonville Jaguars (7-8) in their Week 18 clash to win the AFC South. 

With that in mind - as the Jags game is the only one that "matters'' - the Titans could rest stars like running back Derrick Henry, in their Thursday home game against the Cowboys.

"We've got some guys who have played a lot of football for us that are far less than 100 percent," Mike Vrabel said. "It's those guys that I appreciate that, no matter what, find a way to be here for this team. So we'll try to figure out who we have and who's available and then make some decisions."

The Titans are an injury-riddled team without their starting quarterback. Ryan Tannehill saw his season curbed in the loss to the Los Angeles Chargers a week ago after Khalil Mack landed on his foot. Reports say Tannehill is likely out for the year after ankle surgery. 

That puts rookie Malik Willis in the spotlight against 11-4 Dallas' playmaking defense - with the Cowboys still playing to win.

To repeat: The way things stand in the race in the AFC South, a win or a loss won't matter for the Titans against the Cowboys. Either way, the division will come down to Week 18. 

But the way things stand in the NFC, Dallas can still overtake Philly with two wins paired with two Eagles losses.

The Cowboys and Titans will kick off at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday as part of Prime Video's "Thursday Night Football." ... and maybe that scenario is unlikely. But Dallas, even with some guys like Micah Parsons who could use some rest, knows how it'll approach it. And the Titans are trying to figure it out.

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