Titans running back Derrick Henry is 6-3, 238 pounds and — as of the completion of Tennessee’s “Monday Night Football” win over the Bills — the NFL’s fastest player.
The two-time defending NFL rushing king claimed the title of fastest player on the Titans’ first score of the game, a 76-yard touchdown run. Henry, who started the play 8 yards behind the line of scrimmage, already had a full head of steam when he broke through it. After running into safety Jordan Poyer 3 yards past the line, he turned on the burners to split two defenders en route to the score:
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According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Henry topped out at 21.8 mph on the run. That’s not only the fastest top speed of any player this year, but also the fastest run of Henry’s career.
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The company Henry keeps after his run is pretty good, too: He’s 0.02 mph faster than Raiders receiver and fellow Alabama alum Henry Ruggs III, who has the next-fastest speed this year (21.78 mph) on a Week 4 51-yard touchdown. Henry is the biggest of any player to claim a top-20 speed this year.
The Titans needed every bit of Henry’s excellence in the 34-31 win. He finished the game with 20 carries for 143 yards and scores of 76, 3 and 13 yards. The final score eventually proved to be the game-winner after the Titans’ defense stopped a Bills fourth-down sneak attempt to eke out the victory.
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That gives Henry five straight games of at least 113 yards and his third game this year with three touchdowns. Following Monday’s game, Henry (783 yards) now has 260 more yards than second-place rusher Nick Chubb (523 yards) and five more touchdowns than second-place James Conner (10-5).