Derrick Henry's absence glaringly exposes Tennessee Titans shortcomings

The Tennessee Titans were on the road last night for a primetime Monday Night Football matchup against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, FL. Tennessee came away with their first win of the season: a 31-12 victory.

The game featured a measly 428 total yards between both teams and despite the 31-12 final score, both offenses struggled mightily. The Titans may have put up 31 points, but their offense was far from impressive.

The ground game took center stage with 142 rushing yards on 40 carries, but without a 41-yard run from Tony Pollard, that average drops to just 2.6 yards per attempt—hardly a dominant performance.

While the Titans' offense has yet to find its rhythm, their struggles are even more noticeable when compared to former Titans running back Derrick Henry, who’s thriving with the Baltimore Ravens this season. Letting Henry walk in free agency is starting to look like a costly decision for Tennessee.

Derrick Henry's success for Ravens is at the Titans' expense

While the Titans struggle offensively through the 2024 season, quite the opposite is happening for former Titans running back 'King' Henry in Baltimore. Aside from setting new franchise records in Baltimore, Henry is coming off back-to-back weeks of over 150 rushing yards, totaling 480 rushing yards on the season through four games.

Derrick Henry has turned back the clock and looks like his old self, running over anything and everything. The better he does in Baltimore, and the more Tennessee struggles on offense, the more glaring Henry's absence becomes. The Titans chose running back Tony Pollard over retaining Derrick Henry in free agency and that move is coming back to bite them in the you know what.

Tonight’s 31-point performance was the first time Tennessee had scored more than 17 points in a game. For the season, they have scored eight total touchdowns. Henry alone has five rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown to go with it. He has almost single-handedly matched the Titans’ offensive production on his own.

Tennessee’s quarterback situation isn’t helping matters either. Will Levis has struggled with turnovers and slow decision-making, leaving the offense stagnant. Backup Mason Rudolph, who stepped in after Levis injured his shoulder against the Dolphins, didn’t provide much of a spark either.

Even though the Titans came away with their first win of the season Monday night, their offense is still a train wreck. Will Levis is a weekly meme and can't get the ball in the hands of their playmakers. Oh, and they aren't getting consistent rushing production from their running backs, either.

No one is saying Derrick Henry would be the fix-all to their offensive woes, but he's on pace for 2,000 rushing yards this season and 20 touchdowns. There's no denying the Titans miss him. He might've helped out this offense just a bit.

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