How well did Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry play in his first NFL postseason game on Saturday? Well enough to find his name on lists with Billy Cannon, Earl Campbell, Eddie George and Steve McNair afterward.

Henry ran for 156 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries and caught two passes for 35 yards in the Titans' 22-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the opening game of the AFC playoffs.

Henry joined George and Campbell as the only players in franchise history to run for 100 yards in a postseason game. (The Titans were the Houston Oilers before moving to Tennessee.)

Alabama's 2015 Heisman Trophy winner came up 6 rushing yards short of George's franchise record the most in a playoff game. George won the Heisman Trophy in 1995 at Ohio State.

With 191 yards from scrimmage, Henry broke the franchise single-game playoff record of 178 set by Cannon (the 1959 Heisman Trophy winner at LSU) against the Los Angeles Chargers on Jan. 1, 1961, in the first AFL championship game.

Henry scored on a 35-yard run on the second snap of the fourth quarter. That tied for the third-longest playoff run in franchise history with one by Campbell in 1978. The only longer runs were recorded by George and McNair in the playoffs after the 1999 season.

The main thing for Henry and the Titans, though, was they get a chance to do it again.

"It's been a long time coming for this team to be in the playoffs and get a win in a hostile environment," Henry said. "(Kansas City) is a great team with a great defense. We stuck together even though we got down early. ... We just believe in each other and came out and played Titan football by just going out there and executing the play that was called."

The game didn't seem to have the makings of big day for Henry. Kansas City grabbed a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and led 21-3 when it scored on the final snap of the first half. But Tennessee ran its way out of the hole.

"We came out and stuck with the plan," Tennessee coach Mike Mularkey said, "and it benefitted us, and we trusted the defense. Again, calmed down a little bit from early on, and they played lights out in the second half. It was a different half."

Tennessee's rally from an 18-point deficit tied for the second-largest comeback for a winning road team in NFL playoff history. The Detroit Lions climbed out of a 20-point hole against the San Francisco 49ers in 1957.

Tennessee had the football for 19:04 in the second half, leaving the Chiefs' possession time at 10:56, and wound up with a franchise playoff rushing record of 202 yards, with quarterback Marcus Mariota accounting for the eight rushes and 46 yards that didn't go to Henry.

"If you want to run the ball, or whatever you want to do, I believe it works as long as we execute the play and beat the man in front of you," Henry said.

Henry finished second in the NFL during the regular season in fourth-quarter rushing yards with 390. Against the Chiefs, Henry ran for 85 yards on eight carries in the final 15 minutes. In addition to his touchdown run, his fourth-quarter carries included runs of 12 and 22 yards - the latter on third-and-10 - as the Titans kept possession for the game's final 2:09 to seal the one-point win.

"Big runs, big plays," Mularkey said. "I think he was a man on a mission to get his chance and opportunity, and now he gets another one. Again, I just think the more he's playing, the more experience is good for him."

Henry was on the field for all but two of Tennessee's 70 offensive snaps with DeMarco Murray, the Titans' regular starter at running back, sidelined by a knee injury.

"Derrick ran lights out today," said Tennessee center Ben Jones, a former Bibb County High School standout. "He's a tough runner, and I'm loving it when he's back there grinding it. That's Titans football. We were grinding it and won the game."

Henry also took the lead role last week, when Murray missed Tennessee's regular-season finale. Although he caught a 66-yard touchdown pass in a 15-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Henry wasn't happy with his performance. He had a career-high 28 carries, but produced only 51 rushing yards because the Jaguars dropped him behind the line of scrimmage seven times.

"I just wanted to play better this week than last week," Henry said. "I just wanted to be able to come out and help this team on offense. ...

"I just wanted to go out and run hard. Run north-south and forward. I had a lot of negative plays last week. I told you all that it didn't leave my head. It was in my head when the game kicked off. So I just wanted to be better than I was last week."

On Saturday, the Titans played their first postseason game since Jan. 10, 2009, and earned their first playoff victory since Jan. 3, 2004.

The No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs, the Titans will play the New England Patriots or Pittsburgh Steelers on the road in the next round. The opponent depends on what happens in Sunday's Buffalo Bills-Jacksonville Jaguars game.

If the Jaguars win, then Tennessee would play the top-seeded Patriots at 7:15 p.m. CST Saturday. If the Bills win, then the Titans would play the second-seeded Steelers at 12:05 p.m. Sunday.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.