Titans RB Derrick Henry has had a real nose for the end zone over the past three weeks, scoring six touchdowns on the ground in that span compared to just four touchdowns on the ground through his ten games of the year. While the usage and the rushing yards haven’t been there this season like they’ve been over the past few years, he’s hitting his stride in December the same way vintage Henry would have as he heads into a matchup against the Texans in the first week of the fantasy playoffs – one that has been extremely good to him since 2019.
Henry missed both matchups against the Texans in 2021 due to injury – a year where he was on an absolutely ridiculous pace through eight games. But in the six games he’s played against the Texans since 2019, Henry has absolutely annihilated Houston’s defense in each one of them – setting up a very juicy date with the Titans’ division rival in Week 15. You want stats? We’ve got ‘em.
In those six games against the Texans, Derrick Henry is averaging 29.6 PPR fantasy points, 184 rushing yards, and 1.7 touchdowns per game dating back to 2020. That includes three 210+ rush yard, 2 touchdown performances in his last four games against Houston, all of which saw him score in excess of 35 fantasy points on each day. In 2022 alone, Henry averaged 27.4 fantasy points and 173 yards per game to go along with three touchdowns in two dominating fantasy performances against his divisional foe.
Has Henry noticeably slowed down a bit this season? Sure. And it would obviously be ill-advised to base our perception of Henry in 2023 around what we’ve seen from him in years past - but it’s certainly worth mentioning that there’s precedence for a big game from Henry against the Texans in the opening round of the fantasy playoffs, especially with the Texans coming into the game banged up on offense. A positive game script could open the door for a vintage Derrick Henry performance.