Henry tops 2,000 rushing yards in Titans’ victory

Few running backs have been as dominant as the Tennessee Titans’ Derrick Henry over the past two seasons. Henry provided more proof Sunday, when he surpassed 2,000 rushing yards for the season in the Titans’ 41-38 win over the Houston Texans.

On a lengthy drive in the fourth quarter, Henry reached 227 rushing yards — surpassing the milestone. Henry finished with 250 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries in the win, which gave Tennessee the AFC South title.

Henry is the eighth player in the 2,000-rushing-yards club, joining O.J. Simpson, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, Jamal Lewis, Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson. The Titans are the only NFL franchise to have two players (Johnson in 2006 was the other) who have rushed for 2,000 yards in a season.

Peterson was the last to do it when he picked up 2,097 in 2012.

“He’s definitely showing that he is that next best thing. When you’re Derrick Henry, teams are coming in and they are focused on stopping you. That right there makes it even more impressive,” Peterson said last month.

Henry is the first player to post more than 200 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a game three times in a season. The 6-foot-3, 247-pound back joined Davis as the only players to have at least 1,900 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns in a season. Henry will finish as the Triple Crown winner in rushing categories, leading running backs in rushing yards, touchdowns (17) and attempts.

Henry had more than 200 rushing yards for the third consecutive game against the Texans, making him the only player in NFL history to do so. He also joined Tiki Barber (New York Giants 2005, 2006) as the only NFL players to finish with 200-yard rushing games in back-to-back season finales.