Titans’ Derrick Henry says Week 3 struggles, career lows give him ‘a little more fuel’ for Week 4 vs. Bengals

Derrick Henry had a notable performance last week, it was just not notable for all the wrong reasons. The Tennessee Titans‘ star running back had just 11 carries for 20 yards in Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns, one of the worst games of his eight-year career.

Playing 17 of the 45 offensive plays, his number of carries were his lowest since 2017 and he had the second fewest rushing yards of in his career in games with at least 10 carries, per NFL Research.

The Titans went on to lose the game 27-3 to fall to 1-2. As they head into their Week 4 contest against the 1-2 Cincinnati Bengals, Henry has extra motivation to turn things around from last week.

“Did last weekend add a little more fuel? Definitely,” Henry said, via the team’s website.

He continued, saying there is always that drive to get back on the field and he is not dwelling too much on the past struggles.

“I am always motivated to play the next game,” he said. “Last weekend, it was rough. We didn’t have much success … But at the end of the day, I am always going to be locked in; I’m always going to be focused on my job and what I have to do. I am going to go out there and play my best.”

The 29-year-old noted that the Bengals defense does not give them an easy matchup, adding that it will take team chemistry and everyone doing their job at a high level to get the win.

“It takes all 11 — everybody focused, having the will to get off the line of scrimmage, create space, us finishing runs, guys going in there and digging out safeties and DBs,” Henry said. “[The Bengals] have had success against us the last couple of games, and we just have to be better focused and get into drives, and everybody do what they are supposed to.”

Henry is averaging 3.2 yards per carry so far this season, a career-low for the Pro Bowler. He is averaging 53.3 rushing yards per game, a significant drop from the league-leading 109.9 rushing yards average he had from 2019 to 2022. 

The Titans have the ninth-fewest rushing yards of the season through three games with 271 and have the eighth-fewest rushing first downs with 15.

Tennessee and Cincinnati are scheduled to play on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Nissan Stadium.