Patriots vs. Titans: Can The Pats Bring Down Derrick Henry?

• This is the second time the Tennessee Titans have made the playoffs since 2009.
• The Titans won on wild card weekend in 2017 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
• Under Belichick, the Patriots have never won the Super Bowl without a first-round bye.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots were heralded as potentially the best defensive team ever at the beginning of the season. They were holding opponents out of the endzone at ease, not allowing an offensive touchdown until they played the Buffalo Bills in Week 4.

They also have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in the wings, meaning playoff success is inevitable. However, the Tennessee Titans have one thing that the Patriots may not be able to stop – Derrick Henry.

Henry finished the regular season as the rushing champion (most rushing yards) but it is his size and determination that make him tough to stop.

The Domination Of Derrick Henry

According to Next Gen Stats, Henry has the third-best efficiency percentage of all running backs.

This indicates that Henry is a true north-south runner and doesn’t spend time attempting to run horizontally. In an attempt to stop the running back, the Patriots will likely add multiple people in the box in attempts to slow him down.

However, this is something that Henry is used to, as 35.31% of his runs saw eight or more defenders in the box – the fifth-highest rate of all running backs on the season (two of which were Benny Snell Jr. and Tevin Coleman, who didn’t even combine for the total number of carries that Henry ended his season with).

For this reason alone, betting on Derrick Henry and the Titans to beat the Patriots (+195) might not be the worst decision. Despite the Pats (-225) being favored by 5 points, the Titans have won seven of their last ten and are not a team to be messed with.

Betting On Derrick Henry’s Production

With this, bettors are given the opportunity at various online sports betting sites to bet on the potential Super Bowl run for the Tennessee Titans. Though they must get past the Patriots first, their odds will certainly decrease should Derrick Henry keep up his dominant production.

Slated at 89.5 rushing yards, Henry may find this number difficult to hit. This is a number that Henry has beaten in five of his last six games played – with the sole miss having ended with 86 yards – but the Patriots defense is much better than the Titans’ previous half-dozen opponents’.

If Henry surpasses this mark, he may not need a lot of carries to get the job done. Set at 23 projected touches, Henry has only seen this over hit in three games this season (with one game that would have ended in a push). Still, Henry has been on the field for about 70% of all offensive snaps over the last six weeks, so don’t be surprised if he does break this number.

Henry is also favored to score at least one touchdown (-140) and bettors might consider risking the extra vigorish on this wager. Henry hasn’t found the endzone in only four games this season, and the Titan’s last seven games, Henry has scored at least twice five times.

Betting on Henry to score the first touchdown of the game is the strong favorite (+550), as only two other players have odds shorter than +1000 for the game.

No matter how a bettor wants to bet on the Super Bowl and NFL Playoffs, understand that there are plenty of betting lines and odds available. Scanning the online sportsbooks for the best action is a sure-fire way to make betting easier, and using some of these Derrick Henry prop bets is definitely the call for Saturday’s 8:15 p.m. EST battle.