Slow down Derrick Henry
The most obvious key to victory for the Buffalo Bills in Week 5 is to slow down Derrick Henry. At almost 250 pounds, Henry has the size of a prototypical linebacker, but the speed and skill set of a running back. He is a very unique type of running back because of his powerful stature. While Henry doesn’t have the greatest acceleration through the gap, his power at the point of contact more than makes up for any lack of acceleration.
Henry’s powerful running style is one that really wears down the defense throughout a game. Titans’ head coach Mike Vrabel has made it abundantly clear that they are going to get Henry at least 20 touches a game.
In Week 5, the challenge for the Buffalo Bills defense will be keeping him quiet through four quarters. Henry has shown a tendency to remain relatively quiet while accumulating plenty of short-yardage runs that wear down the opponent, but these short runs set up the chunk 20 yard runs with Henry’s ability to break tackles on worn down opponents.
It’s not going to be easy for individual players to take down Henry alone. The Bills defense has shown a tendency in past years to have some poor tackling games, and this Week 5 game is not a good time for that to happen. It’s going to take a team effort to rally towards the ball carrier in order to bring down Henry and reduce his yards after contact.