These 2019-20 NFL Playoffs have been WILD. I would normally recap all of the drama thus far, but we have something to address right out of the gate. Derrick Henry is an assassin, sent to destroy everything that the media holds as sacred and beautiful. He will silently and gladly square up in the trenches with malice; he will disassemble whatever pedigree that your team thought it held upon entering battle against him.
Throughout last year’s NBA Season (switching to basketball… stay with me) we witnessed a team who not many saw as being one of the best at the beginning of the season, play some serious ball. This team rose up behind the ascent of a young, captivating player who took a leap from good to great. This player dominated all adversaries on the way to capturing our imaginations as well as the league MVP award. That team was the Milwaukee Bucks, and that player was Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks earned the top seed in their conference on the way to the playoffs, and hope for a title run abounded. Unfortunately for the state of Wisconsin, the Bucks lost to a lower seeded team before reaching the final stages.
Read that last paragraph again, because a very similar tale could be told of the 2019 Baltimore Ravens in this year’s NFL Season! There has been a constant parade of puff pieces and talk shows that have fawned over how incredible and unique Lamar Jackson’s season has been. The development of the Baltimore Ravens’ and Jackson’s dominant season was a prevailing storyline that we all followed all year. It was to the point where the prospect of them being in the Super Bowl seemed like a foregone conclusion. I personally made a point to watch as many Ravens games as I could to witness Lamar’s electric play. Lamar Jackson very well may be the future of the NFL. His 2019 regular season heroics and highlights will be something that many of us will always remember as somewhat of a sea-change. Much like the Bucks in last year’s NBA Playoffs, however, the Ravens in this year’s NFL Playoffs were defeated by a lower seeded team. This happened to both franchises despite the presence of the respective league MVP’s.
If this year’s Ravens are last year’s Bucks, then that makes Derrick Henry this year’s Kawhi Leonard!! He is the executioner of dreams, dynasties, hopes and storylines. We love (or love to hate) LeBron, Lamar, Brady, Mahomes, Russell and Zeke. Derrick Henry stood up and let his play do the talking: “Oh, you thought it was going to be about them…? Naw, you buckle-up and peep game. You’re gonna respect this whether you like it or not” {rough translation}.
The Titans upending the Patriots (who have won 3 of the last 5 Super Bowls) in the wildcard round of the playoffs was a statement game; but crushing the Ravens was a shocking revelation. Of course, like Kawhi Leonard on the Toronto Raptors, #22 got help. Tennessee has a head coach who brilliantly outcoached and embarrassed the great Bill Belichick. Not many may know that Titans QB, Ryan Tannehill was graded as the top QB in the league (Passer rating and PFF grade) in the 11 games he played in. Tannehill’s job was undoubtedly made easier by the threat of Henry, but he played well in his role. And you cannot forget that TEN has some dawgs on defense. But Henry makes it all gel. He is the titular titan of Tennessee. Nick Shook called the Titans “hungry and vengeful” and that is the perfect description, and it starts with Derrick Henry.
Henry is completely dominating everyone in his path. He seemingly gets 8 yards every time he totes the rock. He has more rush yards in the playoffs at this point in his career than any other human in the history of the league. He is the 2019 rushing yards leader and he turned into Thanos on a future HOF’er. That moment was not quite Bo Jackson against Brian Bosworth, but it was scintillatingly close. His historic playoff perform has launched his stardom to a new stratosphere. Some of the greatest RB’s in history couldn’t carry their teams on their backs like this.
Derrick Henry reminds us of the ability of certain moments in life (like sports) to crush any previous, long-held narratives that anybody wanted to believe or label you with. Those are beautiful moments in both sports and life. Like Kawhi did last year, Henry has unleashed in the playoffs the all-consuming fire that is his force of will. It looks like he has reincarnated the power and mystique of Beastmode.
Later today, the Kansas City Chiefs will want to air it out, strike fast and take Derrick Henry out of the game. They have the firepower to do just that, led by the still reigning NFL MVP in Mahome-dawg. Henry did have over 8 ypc against KC earlier this year (188 rushing yards and 2 tuddies) and has earned over 1,500 yds AFTER contact this season (including playoffs). Unlike basketball, in football one man can only do so much against a balanced and unified team… but he is bending those laws a bit before our eyes.
Henry had 182 on the ground against the Pats two weeks ago. That set a Titans playoff record, and was the most ever against NE in a playoff game in the Belichick era. Derrick Henry may be credited one day for ending the New England Patriots Dynasty – arguably the greatest dynasty in American sports history. When Henry scored the jump pass Tebow TD against Baltimore, that was when i felt this game was etched in history. It was iconic. That conjured memories of Adrian Peterson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Larry Johnson and great backs of the past who were the do-everything motors for their teams. He is going beyond just playing well… he has tacked on a grip of exclamation points to his playoff performances!!
No matter who wins the super bowl this year, Derrick Henry’s 2019 playoff coronation will be remembered. His foes next year will have it in the back of their minds each and every game. Y’all messed around and let him get in his zone, and he broke all of the ceilings. This is a bad dude, and you can doubt this dangerous killer if you want, but he has already shown us that he can reach heights that we’ve never seen. He doesn’t care about your nice little storylines. You will pay this man, and pay his game, attention.
