Running back Derrick Henry became the Tennessee Titans’ franchise leader for rushing touchdowns on Sunday night, but the Kansas City Chiefs spoiled the occasion by rallying for a 20-17 victory.
Henry scored twice in the second quarter to move one ahead of Earl Campbell on the franchise’s career rushing-touchdowns list. Campbell ran for 73 touchdowns from 1978 through 1984 when the Tyler Rose played for the Houston Texans.
In last week’s 17-10 victory over the Houston Texans, Henry scored twice to reach 75 total touchdowns and replace Eddie George as the franchise’s career leader.
Henry scored on a 4-yard run from the King Cat formation with 10:48 left in the first half and on a 1-yard run with 5:24 left in the first half as Tennessee rallied from a 9-0 deficit to take the lead playing at Arrowhead Stadium with rookie quarterback Malik Willis in for injured Ryan Tannehill.
Henry had 92 yards on nine carries in the first half, getting 56 on one play. But after halftime, Henry had eight carries for 23 yards.
“We just didn’t execute,” Henry said. “They played better than we did in the second half on defense, and we just didn’t execute in the second half.”
By totaling 115 yards on the ground, Henry recorded his fifth 100-yard game in a row and took over the NFL rushing lead as he passed Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns and Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants, who were idle on Sunday.
Henry has 870 yards and nine touchdowns on 183 rushing attempts this season. Chubb has 841 yards and 10 touchdowns on 149 rushing attempts. Barkley has 779 yards and five touchdowns on 163 rushing attempts. All three have played in eight games.
Henry was the NFL’s rushing champion in 2019 and 2020, and he was leading the league in 2021 when he suffered a broken foot in the eighth game that caused him to miss the rest of the regular season.
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Henry was among the 29 former Alabama players who got on the field on the ninth Sunday of the NFL’s 103rd season.
Two other former Alabama players were involved in the Tennessee-Kansas City game:
· Titans defensive back Shyheim Carter is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Titans defensive end Da’Shawn Hand is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
In the other Sunday games:
Los Angeles Chargers 20, Atlanta Falcons 17
· Rashaan Evans (Auburn High) started at inside linebacker for the Falcons. Evans led Atlanta with 12 tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, broke up a pass and forced a fumble. Evans caused Los Angeles running back Austin Ekeler to fumble at the Atlanta 17-yard line in the final minute of the game, but Falcons defensive end Ta’Quon Graham fumbled the football back to the Chargers after a 19-yard return with 34 seconds to play. Los Angeles kicked the game-winning field goal three snaps later.
· Chargers punter JK Scott averaged 42.0 yards on four punts with no return yards. Scott had a 48-yard punt that went out of bounds at the Atlanta 19-yard line, a 36-yarder for a fair catch at the Atlanta 31, a 44-yarder for a fair catch at the Atlanta 32 and a 40-yarder for a fair catch at the Atlanta 20.
Miami Dolphins 35, Chicago Bears 32
· Raekwon Davis started at nose tackle for the Dolphins. Davis made three tackles.
· Eddie Jackson started at safety for the Bears. Jackson made seven tackles.
· Bears offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Tua Tagovailoa started at quarterback for the Dolphins. Tagovailoa completed 21-of-30 passes for 302 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. His passing-efficiency rating of 135.7 ranked as the second-highest of his career, behind the 138.7 achieved during last week’s 31-27 victory over the Detroit Lions. Tagovailoa threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyreek Hill as the Dolphins took a 14-10 lead with 10:39 left in the first half, an 18-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle as Miami increased its lead to 28-17 with 12:47 left in the third quarter and a 10-yard touchdown pass to running back Jeff Wilson as the Dolphins went up 35-25 with 6:02 left in the third quarter.
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· Jaylen Waddle started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Waddle had five receptions for 85 yards with one touchdown. Waddle scored on an 18-yard reception as Miami increased its lead to 28-17 with 12:47 left in the third quarter.
Cincinnati Bengals 42, Carolina Panthers 21
· Bradley Bozeman (Handley) started at center for the Panthers.
· Panthers guard Deonte Brown (Austin) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Jonah Williams started at left offensive tackle for the Bengals. Cincinnati ran for 241 yards and five touchdowns in the game.
Detroit Lions 15, Green Bay Packers 9
· Isaiah Buggs started at defensive tackle for the Lions. Buggs registered two quarterback hits.
· Lions center Ross Pierschbacher is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Jarran Reed started at defensive end for the Packers. Reed made two tackles and registered a quarterback hit.
· Lions cornerback Saivion Smith is on the practice squad injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams is on reserve/non-football injury and not eligible to play.
Jacksonville Jaguars 27, Las Vegas Raiders 20
· Anthony Averett started at free safety for the Raiders. Averett made five tackles and broke up a pass.
· Raiders guard Lester Cotton (Central-Tuscaloosa) played but did not record any stats.
· Josh Jacobs started at running back for the Raiders. Jacobs ran for 67 yards on 17 carries and caught three passes for 20 yards.
· Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley is suspended by the commissioner and not eligible to play.
· Cam Robinson started at left offensive tackle for the Jaguars.
· Jaguars safety Deionte Thompson is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
New England Patriots 26, Indianapolis Colts 3
· Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore was designated as a game-day inactive. A knee injury kept Barmore sidelined for a third straight game.
· Colts cornerback Tony Brown was designated as a game-day inactive. Brown did not practice last week because of a hamstring injury.
· Patriots running back Damien Harris was designated as a game-day inactive. The Patriots said Harris missed the game because he was sick.
· Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings (Dadeville) made one tackle and broke up a pass.
· Mac Jones started at quarterback for the Patriots. Jones completed 20-of-30 passes for 147 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Jones threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to running back Rhamondre Stevenson as New England took a 13-0 lead with 6:12 left in the first half.
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· Ryan Kelly started at center for the Colts.
· Patriots defensive end LaBryan Ray (James Clemens) is on the practice squad injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Patriots linebacker Mack Wilson (Carver-Montgomery) made one tackle on defense and one on special teams.
New York Jets 20, Buffalo Bills 17
· Jets safety Jared Mayden is a member of the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· C.J. Mosley (Theodore) started at linebacker for the Jets. Mosley made six tackles, recorded his first sack of the season and broke up a pass.
· Quinnen Williams (Wenonah) started at defensive tackle for the Jets. Williams made two tackles, recorded one sack and registered one tackle for loss. Williams has seven sacks this season.
Minnesota Vikings 20, Washington Commanders 17
· Jonathan Allen started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Allen made two tackles for loss and registered four quarterback hits. Allen has 11 tackles for loss this season.
· Commanders defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Daron Payne (Shades Valley) started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Payne made six tackles, recorded one sack, had four tackles for loss and registered two quarterback hits. Payne has 5.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss this season.
· Brian Robinson Jr. (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa) started at running back for the Commanders. Robinson ran for 44 yards on 13 carries and caught two passes that netted minus-6 yards.
· Commanders wide receiver Cam Sims caught a 12-yard pass.
· Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. is on injured reserve and is not eligible to play.
· Vikings defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson was designated as a game-day inactive. Tomlinson did not practice last week because of a calf injury, and he missed a game for the second time in his six NFL seasons.
Seattle Seahawks 31, Arizona Cardinals 21
· Seahawks long snapper Carson Tinker handled the snaps on four extra points, three punts and one field goal.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16, Los Angeles Rams 13
· Buccaneers wide receiver Julio Jones (Foley) caught two passes for 28 yards.
· Rams outside linebacker Terrell Lewis made two tackles, registered a tackle for loss and broke up a pass.
· A’Shawn Robinson started at defensive end for the Rams. Robinson made seven tackles.
Week 9 started on Thursday night, when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Houston Texans 29-17. Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw two second-half touchdown passes as the Eagles improved to 8-0 for the first time in franchise history.
Week 9 concludes on Monday, when the Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints square off at 7:15 p.m. CST at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will televise the game.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
