What Tennessee Titans' Derrick Henry said about declining stats, lack of long runs and second-half dropoff

The numbers have not added up for Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry this season.

As the Titans (3-2) prepare to play AFC South rival Indianapolis (3-2-1) on Sunday (noon, CBS) at Nissan Stadium the player some consider the best at his position in the NFL is having his least productive season in the key statistical category average yards per carry.

Henry, in his seventh season, is averaging 3.9 yards on each rushing attempt. He has never averaged fewer than 4.2 yards per carry and from 2018-20 averaged 5.1 yards.

Henry led the NFL in rushing in 2019 and 2020, but is ranked 10th with 408 yards on 104 carries.

One of the main reasons for Henry's lack of production has been that he hasn't been able to break off one of the long runs he's been known for throughout his career.

"When it comes, it comes," Henry said Thursday. "I'm not pressing. Whenever it happens, it happens."

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Henry's longest run this season is only 24 yards. It came against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 25 and was a nice run where he broke a couple tackles before being pulled down at the 1-yard line.

But it was nothing like the 99-yard touchdown he scored against Jacksonville in 2018. Or his 94-yard run against Houston in 2020 or the 76-yard run he had against Buffalo last season, two weeks before breaking a bone in his foot against the Colts, which forced him to miss the remainder of the regular season.

"I've just got to do my job running hard and finishing runs and all those things," Henry said. "I don't really get into all the other stuff. As long as we execute and do what we need to do I think we'll have success and that's what we need to focus on."

The problem is that without Henry's typical productivity the Titans are not as good in the run game as they have been. They are ranked 21st in the NFL in rushing yards per game (102.8).

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill remains confident Henry is on the cusp of making a long run.

"With Derrick and our run game you never know which (play) is going to hit," Tannehill said. "There are certain plays you like throughout the week, but you never know which one is going to be the home run. A lot of time it comes down to one block on the back side, just freeing Derrick up and letting him get through to that second level clean and obviously we've seen what he can do from there."

Along with coming up with new plays and schemes to help Henry cut loose, Tannehill said persistency is the key.

"We just have to stick with it," he said. "I believe and we know that those big plays will come. We just have to stay true to our process, execute the blocking schemes up front and give Derrick some space."

Henry has also been known for getting stronger as the game goes on, but that hasn't been the case this season. Like the offense, he has been inefficient in the second half.

In an Oct. 2 game against the Colts, Henry rushed for 17 yards on eight carries in the second half and in the last game against Washington he had 19 yards on 10 carries in the second half.

"I'm not concerned at all," Henry said about his second-half dropoffs. "It's a long season. We just have to work on it out here (on the practice field) and eventually it'll happen. We've got the guys that can make it happen. We've just got to get better."

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans: Derrick Henry on stats decline before Colts game