|
But Tennessee (6-2), which if the playoffs started this week
would be the No. 1 seed in the AFC, might not be whole for the
season's remainder. That's because Henry underwent surgery
Tuesday to repair a broken right foot.
Without Henry, the Titans lose the NFL's leading rusher with 937
yards. They also lose a guy who has become a better receiver out
of the backfield. In sum, the Titans lose a significant chunk of
their offensive identity.
"Keep moving," quarterback Ryan Tannehill said when asked how
the team proceeds minus Henry. "We have to keep moving forward
as a team, as an offense, and find a way to continue to play our
football and play good."
Signing Adrian Peterson, a one-time 2,000-yard rusher and the
NFL's Most Valuable Player in 2012 as a member of the Minnesota
Vikings, ranks as a low-risk move. The guy who has rushed for
1,000 yards eight times, including as recently as 2018 in
Washington, should be fresh after not playing over the season's
first eight weeks.
No matter how quickly Peterson picks up the offense or how
Jeremy McNichols might be able to assume a bigger workload in
Henry's place, Tannehill assumes the burden of proof. It will be
a change for a guy who's usually been able to throw when he
wants, not when he has to, but he's eager for the challenge.
"I just love winning football games," he said. "Whatever it
takes to win and give our team the best chance to win, that is
what I will do."
While Tennessee tries to reinvent itself, the Rams (7-1) have
imitated Phil Hellmuth and pushed all their chips into the
middle of the table. Acquiring Von Miller from Denver on Monday
gives them a once-dominant edge rusher to go along with star
tackle Aaron Donald.
Miller arrived in town with an ankle injury that caused him to
sit out the Broncos' 17-10 win last week over Washington and
could keep him on the sidelines this week. Los Angeles coach
Sean McVay vows the team will be smart when assessing Miller's
condition.
"He's going to do everything in his power to try to play," McVay
said. "But I think there's an element of let's take it a day at
a time and let's be smart, let's get a feel for how he's doing.
But this guy is an elite competitor."
It's not like the Rams' defense has needed Miller's presence
yet. They lead the NFL in sacks (25) and interceptions (11),
which more than offsets ranking in the middle of the pack in
points allowed.
And the Los Angeles offense usually gives its defense a
significant margin for error. Their 30.6 ppg is fifth in the
league, just ahead of the Titans' 28.4 ppg. New quarterback
Matthew Stafford is playing some of the best football of his
career with a 22-4 touchdown-interception ratio through eight
games.
Stafford threw for 305 yards and three scores last week in
Houston as the Rams opened a 38-0 third quarter lead on their
way to a 38-22 win.
Los Angeles owns an 8-5 lead in the all-time series, winning the
teams' last matchup 27-23 on Christmas Eve in 2017 to clinch the
NFC West title in McVay's first season.
--Field Level Media
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
