Derrick Henry isn’t a big or brash talker. That’s what made the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner calling his performance ”kind of soft” in Tennessee’s regular-season finale stand out.
The massive running back sure made up for that with an NFL postseason debut for the record books.
Getting Henry to acknowledge any change in his own confidence or being pleased after a big game is as tough as tackling him in the open field.
”I’m just trying to play better every week
Tanner Lee Color Rush Jersey ,” Henry said . ”I’m going to get another chance to play – it’s a great team in a good environment – so just making sure I’m doing all the right things this week.”
Henry rebounded from a game in which he ran for 51 yards by setting a franchise playoff record with 191 yards from scrimmage, helping the Titans rally for a 22-21 victory over Kansas City in the wild-card round. He topped the previous mark set by Billy Cannon in January 1961 with the best performance by a running back in the playoffs in at least a decade.
Now it’s up to Bill Belichick and the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots (13-3) to slow down Henry on Saturday night in their AFC divisional game. Belichick says everyone on defense has to do his job.
”Henry has got a ton of skill, and he’s got power, good vision,” Belichick said. ”He can certainly run inside and break tackles, he’s a tough runner, he can get tough runs. But, he’s very athletic in the open field. He’s fast, he can cut back, he can get to space. He’s broken off a lot of long runs
http://www.jetsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-thomas-rawls-jersey , running plays, screens.”
Against Jacksonville on Dec. 31, Henry made up for a rough day running by taking a screen 66 yards for a touchdown . But his first three carries went backward, including a 12-yard loss that came dangerously close to a safety.
”He saw some of the things that he missed by trying to bounce some things,” Titans coach Mike Mularkey said. ”He’s had a lot of success bouncing some runs, but at some point you’ve got to hit some of these holes that are there, and they’re not big all the time. I think he saw that, and obviously he’s a quick, fast learner.”
The second-year running back out of Alabama bounced back with a career-high 156 yards, just shy of Eddie George’s franchise-record 162 in a postseason game.
Henry also had 85 yards in the fourth quarter
Dalton Schultz Color Rush Jersey , including a 35-yard touchdown , for the NFL’s third-best rushing performance in the fourth quarter of a playoff game since the 1991 season. Only LeGarrette Blount (114 yards for the Patriots vs. the Colts on Jan. 11, 2014) and Derek Loville (97 yards for the Broncos against the Jaguars on Dec. 27, 1997) have been better in that span.
Finishing is what the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry does best. Only the Chiefs’ Kareem Hunt had more yards rushing (474) in the NFL in the fourth quarter this season than Henry (390), who averaged a league-best 6.09 yards per carry over the final 15 minutes.
Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia says Henry is powerful with a dangerous stiff-arm.
”If it’s a one-on-one tackling situation, it’s extremely difficult to get him down in that instance,” Patricia said.
Henry teamed with quarterback Marcus Mariota to pile up a franchise-record 202 yards rushing for a postseason game. The Patriots ranked 31st, allowing 4.7 yards per rushing play.
DeMarco Murray already has been declared out for a third straight game for Tennessee, leaving the backfield to Henry.
”It’s my job trying to help this team win games
Jets Sam Darnold Jersey ,” Henry said. ”It’s always fun when you’re playing football.”
NOTES: LG Quinton Spain (back) practiced fully after missing the last two days. CB Logan Ryan (ankle) practiced fully after being limited Wednesday.
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Erick Fedde will step on the mound Friday night for the eighth time in his major league career still in search of his first win. He might get it if he can replicate his recent success against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Fedde will try to help the Washington Nationals stop a three-game losing streak on Friday night in the second of a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies will send Nick Pivetta to the mound for his second straight start against Washington.
Facing the Phillies last Saturday, Fedde (0-3, 5.32 ERA) had the best outing of his brief major league career. He went six-plus innings, giving up three runs on eight hits while inducing 13 ground balls. However, the Phillies scored two runs in the eighth inning in a 5-3 win.
“I thought Fedde did a tremendous job,” Nationals catcher Spencer Kieboom told MLB.com after the game. “I couldn’t be more proud of him. He did, he mixed all five pitches — sliders, curveballs, changeups, cutters in
http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-martavis-bryant-jersey , fastballs. He did a good job. I thought he attacked hitters and at the beginning, we were kind of (nibbling), but after that he really attacked.”
Fedde, 25, has pitched at least five innings in all four of his 2018 starts with the Nationals.
Saturday’s game was his first career appearance against the Phillies.
Pivetta (4-6, 4.06) also had a solid outing without a win last weekend. On Sunday night, Pivetta stayed in the game after a rain delay to complete five innings in Washington. He gave up eight hits but just two runs and notched seven strikeouts before the Nationals rallied against the Philadelphia bullpen.
The right-hander has a 5.81 ERA and opponents are hitting .301 against Pivetta in five June starts, but he has allowed just four runs and recorded 20 strikeouts in his last two appearances (12 1/3 innings).
Pivetta was acquired by the Phillies from Washington in exchange for reliever Jonathan Papelbon during the 2015 season. He is 0-2 with a 9.19 ERA in four career starts against the Nationals. His May 4 start against the Nationals has a lot to do with the high ERA, because he gave up six runs in one inning.
The Phillies opened the series with a 4-3 win on Thursday night. At 43-36, the Phillies are two games ahead of the Nationals (41-38) and just two games behind the Braves for first place in the National League East.
Philadelphia has won its last two games and Rhys Hoskins homered in both. In Thursday night’s series opener
Darius Leonard Color Rush Jersey , the left fielder went 3-for-4 with a double and a two-run homer, his 13th of the season.
“Rhys had another huge (homer) for us,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told reporters after his team improved to 4-3 against the Nationals this season.
Hoskins, 25, is hitting .329 with seven homers and 20 RBIs in 18 games during June, raising his season average to .260 and his OPS to .871. Hoskins has just a .224 average in 14 career games against the Nationals, but eight of his 11 hits have gone for extra bases.
Washington, which managed to score three runs — two in the ninth inning — after being shut out in consecutive games, has lost 10 of 13.
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