Derrick Henry led the Tennessee Titans to a massive upset and a win over the New England Patriots in the Wild Card Round tonight. The Titans defeated the reigning Super Bowl champs on the road, 20-13, posting one of their best performances of the decade.
Meanwhile, Henry was celebrating his birthday today, and probably that added some extra motivation for him. Tennessee’s running back had 204 yards from the scrimmage, 22 through the air, and 182 on the ground on 34 carries. He would go and completely destroy the Pats’ defense as just a few before him did.
“We were just locked in. We wanted it, and that was our mindset, just coming in here do what we need to do on all three phases, staying locked no matter what, and that is what kept us in the game,” the hero stated during the on-field interview.
Henry scored a touchdown, but what was more important kept Tom Brady from the game, preventing the hosts from having a rhythm in attack, and from reaching the position to endanger them.
While losing 7-13, he would deliver a one-yard rush to turn the result into Titans favor 35 seconds before the halftime, and from that moment on, a relentless fight started at the Gillette Stadium.
Henry became the first player ever to post 200+yards from scrimmage against Bill Belichick’s NEP in the playoffs, and also set a new franchise record for scrimmage yards in one playoff event.
The game started explosively with each off the first three drives bringing points. New England took the lead with a field goal, but the Titans responded through Anthony Frisker, who caught Tannehill’s pass for 12 yards and a TD. The first play of the second quarter saw Julian Edelman’s five-yard rush, to bring back the edge to the hosts’ side.
For one moment, it seemed that the Pats might have seized the momentum, following Duron Harmon’s interception of Tannehill’s pass at the start of the last quarter. But the hosts would punt the ball pretty soon.
Brett Kern punted the football exactly to New England’s one-yard line with 15 seconds to go, and Logan Ryan picked Brady’s desperate pass after that, returning it for a touchdown that sealed the game.
The Titans will face the Ravens in the Divisional Round next week. The game will take place at M&T Stadium, and it seems that Mike Vrabel’s boys aim to make another huge upset.
“We ain’t done yet, we off to the Ravens,” yelled Rodger Saffold, following the game.
As for the Pats, this is one of the toughest losses in the last few years. They did show some weaknesses over the past few weeks, but just a few expected to lose at home.
Also, the media representatives asked Brady following the game several questions about his retirement, and he stated that the chances for that are slim.
“I would say it is pretty unlikely,” the six-time Super Bowl champ stated. “Who knows what the future holds? …I love the Patriots. I’m very blessed, but I don’t know what the future holds, and I’m not going to try and predict it.”
Brady will be a free agent at the end of the season, and many questions are surrounding his future. The first one is will the Pats offer him a new contract after all, and if not, will any other team do that.
“Right now, we just finished the game. We’re focused on this one,” stated Belichick when the reporters asked him about Brady’s future with the Pats.
Anyhow, the NFL will get a new champ after tonight. Who will that be, we can’t quite tell now, but for sure, it’ll be fun to find out.
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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