Tennessee Titans Will Need More Derrick Henry Against the Los Angeles Chargers

Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly admitted he wished he had used Derrick Henry more against the Saints, but winning against the Chargers on Sunday will require a major increase in Henry's workload.

The Tennessee Titans have been criticized for their overreliance on running back Derrick Henry in recent years and lack of a functional passing game, but in a turn of events, it was the lack of touches for Henry that was a big talking point coming out of the loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Offensive coordinator Tim Kelly admitted at a press conference on Wednesday that he wish he had found a few more chances for Henry. Henry averaged seven yards per touch against the Saints, but only got 17 total touches.

"Probably like to have a call or two back, off the top of my head here, to be able to probably get (Henry) the ball a bit more," Kelly admitted. "Again, that's my job to make sure that I'm getting the ball to our best players and I got to do a better job of that."

If this is Kelly's answer a week from now, something went terribly wrong because the Titans will need Derrick Henry more than ever this week. The Chargers gave up 145 rushing yards per game in 2022, bottom five in the NFL. In the 2022 matchup between these teams, the Titans ran for 127 yards and two rushing scores.

The Chargers only allowed 70 rushing yards to the Dolphins in Week 1, but Miami also threw the ball 45 times and only ran it 20. It is clear what the Dolphins' focus was. The Titans should try to reverse those splits. 

Henry should get the bulk of the carries, but the Titans don't need to forget rookie Tyjae Spears either, but Spears has popped up on the injury report, so the Titans may not have many options. 

With Henry only getting 17 touches last week though, he should be rested and ready to get back to his old ways and dominate the touches against the Chargers. If he does, that could help the Titans dominate the Chargers defense and get back to their winning ways.

Titans Related Stories

• TIM KELLY FILM REVIEW: The Tennessee Titans may have only scored 15 points in their Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints, but it wasn't because they didn't have their opportunities. New offensive coordinator Tim Kelly was impressive in his debut. CLICK HERE
• TANNEHILL WORSE ON FILM: The Tennessee Titans lost their opening game of the season while watching quarterback Ryan Tannehill throw three interceptions and if it looked bad on TV, it looked worse on the coaches film. CLICK HERE
• VRABEL ON TANNEHILL: The Tennessee Titans opening loss to the New Orleans Saints was caused mostly by a poor performance from quarterback Ryan Tannehill and while head coach Mike Vrabel can't explain it, he is banking on Tannehill improving. CLICK HERE