HOUSTON – Titans running back Derrick Henry eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark here on Sunday against the Texans.
It was just part of his memorable season.
"I'm just thankful for my teammates," Henry said after the game. "Thankful for all of them, you know, week in and week out, you know, them doing their job. Just the unselfishness that they have for my success, I'm very thankful. Thank God for my teammates. I pray for those guys every day, all the guys I go to work with.
"Just a great job this year, and glad we were able to keep on playing. I just had to go out there and do my job."
Henry, as usual, did his job well.
Henry, who carried the ball 35 times for 250 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday in the team's 41-38 win, led the NFL with 2,027 rushing yards in 2020. He became the eighth player in NFL history to rush for at least 2,000 yards in a season.
Henry became the first NFL player to run for 2,000 yards since Adrian Peterson with the Minnesota Vikings in 2012, and in doing so the Titans became the first franchise with two 2,000-yard rushers, as Chris Johnson tallied 2,006 rushing yards in 2009.
Henry also became the first player to win back-to-back rushing crowns since LaDainian Tomlinson from 2006 to 2007. Since 1970, seven players have won consecutive rushing titles, and all are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Henry is the first player in NFL history with five career games with at least 200 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
"(He's) incredibly durable, incredibly productive," Titans Coach Mike Vrabel of Henry. "He's disappointed putting the ball on the ground, but we understand the type of player he is and the impact that he has on this team, on the field and off it.
I'm proud to coach him and this entire football team."
After the game, Henry thanked his offensive linemen, and teammates, over and over again during his Zoom call.
Tackle Dennis Kelly said it's an honor to block for Henry, who was named a Pro Bowler for the second straight year.
"It's something when you are older, and done playing, and you are able to talk to your kids, (this) is something I will be able to look back on," Kelly said. "Instantly we have this bond, that we all accomplished this together. It will be impossible to forget."
