Not even Derrick Henry's injury is slowing him: 'My leg would have to be halfway off for me to stop'

Erik Bacharach | The Tennessean

OAKLAND, Calif. — Derrick Henry lightly jogged to the locker room a couple of minutes before halftime, then got on a stationary bike to loosen up before the start of the third quarter. He ran a bit near the Titans’ bench “just trying to stay warm on the sideline,” he said.

And then he ran for 48 more yards in the second half, eclipsing the 100-yard mark for a fourth straight game.

Nothing, not even his ailing leg, is slowing down Henry at the moment.

“There ain't no quitting in me,” the Titans running back said after he ran 18 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns in his team’s 42-21 win over the Raiders on Sunday. “My leg would have to be halfway off for me to stop."

It’s not, but it’s also not 100%.

Henry missed practice Wednesday before being limited Thursday as he deals with an injury to his left hamstring that was seen being iced in the fourth quarter Sunday.

"I'm going to go out there and help my team win games and play through it," Henry said.

Asked about Henry working through his injury, Titans coach Mike Vrabel said, “We all work through things. We are, whatever we are, 13, 14 weeks into the National Football League, and there’s nothing more important that the health of our team. Our players understand that. I understand that. So, again, we will have to do everything that we can to start the treatment process for all these guys on the plane."

Henry’s final run came with about two minutes left in the third quarter. From there, second-string running back Dion Lewis took the Titans’ final eight carries with the team having built a 21-point lead with about 13 minutes left in the game.

“I think that sometimes you have to understand the players and who they are,” Vrabel said. “I have got a good feel for Derrick. He wants to be out there every single snap. He does. It was my choice there at the end to make sure that we were able to get him on to the next week.”

Wide receiver A.J. Brown, who was listed on the injury report earlier this week with a calf injury, also was banged up Sunday but fought through it to catch five passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

“The toughness showed by those guys is huge, and I told them on the field during the game how much I appreciated just the way they’re fighting through it,” Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. “You see them in pain, but they’re fighting through it and they’re continuing not only just to play but to make plays and play well.”

For Henry, it represented the continuation of his recent tear; he’s run for 599 yards and seven touchdowns over the Titans’ past four games.

The 6-foot-3, 247-pound running back is now second in the NFL in rushing with 1,243 yards, trailing only Cleveland’s Nick Chubb (1,281 rushing yards).

"I think that was the quietest 100 yards that I’ve ever seen happen," Tannehill said of Henry. "He was in and out but was able to still get 100 yards."

The best part for the Titans? Henry’s success is unlocking other facets of the offense, such as the pass attack. While the run game generated a total of 161 yards, the Titans passed for 391 yards and had a season-high 552 total yards of offense.

From the other sideline, Jon Gruden was impressed.

"I think they do an excellent job handling the ball to that piece,” the Raiders coach said of Henry. “He’s a great back. Once you get yourself into an eight-man front and try to stop a run, Tannehill recognizes it and made some pinpoint audibles and throws. They made plays. They’re proving to be an all-around hard-to-deal-with offense. They have shown it on tape, and they again put an exclamation point out here today.”

Reach Erik Bacharach at ebacharach@tennessean.com and on Twitter @ErikBacharach.