The Houston Texans will play against a Tennessee Titans team without Derrick Henry on Sunday, but they will still prepare as if they are facing the league's 2020 leading rusher.
"With him, obviously, he's a special player, probably the only one of his kind in this league right now," Head Coach David Culley said. "But since he's been out, what we've seen is instead of them giving the ball to him, they're giving it to two or three other guys. They're doing the same things on offense that they've done before when they had him. It's just that now, they're doing it with two or three other guys. There's only one of him."
After their Week 10 Bye, the Texans were back at practice on Monday at the Houston Methodist Training Center, preparing for a Titans team on a six-game win streak. Tennessee has scored a league-high 16 rushing touchdowns, including 10 touchdowns from Henry. Tennessee is currently averaging 131.6 rushing yards per game, fourth in the AFC. After Henry suffered a foot injury requiring surgery, the Titans signed 36-year-old Adrian Peterson and former Texan D'Onta Foreman, who have split carries in the last two games.
"We are going to prepare as if he could suit up on Sunday," Jonathan Greenard said. "They're still going to run the ball the same way. When you've got a 6'3 guy back there, it's kind of unheard of. However, they are still going to prepare AP (Peterson) the same way, they're still going to prepare (Jeremy) McNichols the same way, Foreman the same way. They are still going to run the ball as hard as ever. Whoever is back there, they are still going to run hard. They are expecting the same outcome as 22, so we still got to prepare the same way as if 22 was there."
The Texans travel to Nissan Stadium to play the Titans on Sunday. Kickoff is set for noon CT on CBS and SportsRadio 610.
The next time you can see the Texans at NRG Stadium will be on November 28 as they host the New York Jets in Week 12. Kickoff is set for noon CT. Click here for tickets.
