The Stiff Arm Should Be Outlawed Because of Derrick Henry

07 Dec, 2018

Derrick Henry pounded out one of the most incredible touchdown runs in NFL history during the Tennessee Titans’ 30-9 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night.

The running back scored on a 99-yard touchdown carry during the second quarter, dishing out three defender-shedding stiff-arms while trudging his way to what was arguably the most incredible touchdown of the season.

In the process, he joined Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett as the only players in NFL history with a 99-yard touchdown run, per NFL Research. He also has three 70-plus yard rushing touchdowns since 2017, the most in the league over that span. In one run, he surpassed his previous 2018 single-game high of 58 yards rushing.

As incredible as the touchdown run was, it’s the third 90-yard touchdown run in 10 days. Houston Texans running back Lamar Miller scored on a 97-yarder against the Titans in Week 12 and Washington Redskins standout Adrian Peterson had a 90-yard TD run on Monday against the Eagles.

Unfortunately for the Jaguars, Henry’s big run was just a spectacular piece of what was a magnificent night for the third-year rusher. Henry finished with an Oilers/Titans franchise-record 238 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries (14.0 average per carry). The four TDs tied a franchise record, according to NFL Research.

Henry also is the first player to rush for more than 200 yards and four touchdowns on 20 or fewer carries in the Super Bowl era.

The record-tying touchdown almost didn’t happen. Quarterback Marcus Mariota told reporters he actually checked into the play at the line after deciding not to go with his primary option — a QB sneak.

“I would say very impressive,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said when asked to assess Henry’s performance. “We knew we had to run the football and Derrick ran hard and the O-line did a great job, the coaches had them prepared.

“In this league you can’t block them all, you can’t block every guy. So you got to make one guy miss or run them over or stiff-arm them or do something. And that’s what Derrick did. There were times where guys weren’t blocking, he got on the edge, stiff-armed a few guys. [He] was really able to break away. And I think we’re going to have to continue to get that in order to get our offense going.”

Henry had few carries in the final quarter and a half of the game. He said he told Vrabel to sub him out late for Dion Lewis.

“We’ve all got to eat,” Henry told FOX Sports’ Erin Andrews after the game. “I wanted to see him get a touchdown. I got four. I care about my teammates. I want to see them get a touchdown. We work so hard throughout the week, so it’s that relationship that we have. You want to see everybody eat. … Records come and go.”

NFL.com

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