Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry has dealt with a plethora of defenders who have intended to tackle him.
Some can get the job done, and some flat out fail.
According to Henry, who joined teammate Taylor Lewan’s “Bussin With The Boys” podcast, linebacker Zach Cunningham plays at an extremely high level and may be the most underrated player on the Houston Texans.
“I don’t know how he doesn’t get more recognition than he does,” Henry said. “You don’t ignore the things that he be doing. He’s the truth.”
Lewan spoke a little more truth about Cunningham’s situation. Despite the fact the former 2017 second-round pick from Vanderbilt led the NFL with 164 combined tackles, he was playing on a 4-12 team that played in nothing but early game Sunday time slots for all but four games in 2020.
The signature play for Henry that summed up Cunningham’s talent was the forced fumble late in the third quarter of Week 17 with the Texans trailing 31-21. Cunningham, who was locked up with a blocker, spun around and popped the football loose from Henry, who was chasing the NFL record for most rushing yards in a season.
Asked Henry: “If he doesn’t hit that ball, how close do I get to that record?”
Instead Henry, who tallied 250 rushing yards in the Titans’ 41-38 victory at NRG Stadium, finished with 2,027 on the year. The NFL single-season rushing record is 2,105 set by Eric Dickerson in 1984 with the Los Angeles Rams.
The laudatory remarks from Henry conjure an old Biblical proverb: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” The Texans will have to keep their focus on self-improvement and adapting to the challenges the 2021 offseason has wrought if they want to recover from the lost momentum sustained by the train wreck that was the 2020 season.