The Tennessee Titans have had a remarkable 2021 season. They went 12-5 on the year, earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC. It was a great finish to a topsy turvy season for the Titans, who lost games to the New York Jets and Houston Texans, two teams who will be selecting in the top-five of the 2022 NFL Draft.
In addition to the upset losses, the Titans also had to navigate the second half of the season without all-world running back, Derrick Henry. Henry injured his foot in a Week 8 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts and was lost for the remainder of the season.
Future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson, D’Onta Foreman, Jeremy McNichols and Dontrell Hilliard all helped fill the void in the backfield. They did a great job and the Titans are hopeful they will get Henry back in the fold this postseason. The bye week will certainly help their cause, as it is an extra week for Henry to rest and get ready.
Another player that the Titans are excited to see healthy and producing again is A.J. Brown. Over at ESPN, Brown was selected as the X-Factor for the Titans throughout the postseason and it is hard to argue against that.
Brown is a dynamic receiver, a key cog in the Titans’ passing game. He missed four games this season because of injury, but when he was healthy, he stepped up in the biggest moments when the team needed him the most.
While Henry garners a lot of the focus from opposing defenses, it is Brown who might be the single most important player on the team. Tennessee was able to stay afloat without Henry and two of their biggest wins of the season came with him hampered or out of the lineup. But, Brown was in the lineup for those games and had monster performances.
Against the Colts in Week 8, when Henry got injured, Brown caught 10 passes for 155 yards and one touchdown. Against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16, after missing nearly a month of action, Brown picked up right where he left off. He caught 11 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown.
The Titans went 1-2 in the games without Brown and also lost the game against the Houston Texans, the last one he played in before being sidelined. With him back in the fold and healthy, Tennessee is a dangerous team heading into the playoffs.
