Houston Texans: Three factors to dismantling the Titans on MNF

Stopping Dion Lewis and Derrick Henry will be key to slowing their offense

Dion Lewis is one of the most dynamic backs in the entire NFL. He is an effective runner and receiver out the backfield and is a player that needs to be accounted for every time he steps onto the football field. Despite his small frame (5’8″, 195 lbs) he is actually a pretty good blocker as well when tasked with doing that.

Then, there is the thunder to Lewis’ lightning, Derrick Henry. These two players could be more opposite in terms of their size and play style. Henry is a massive human being, especially for a running back. He stands 6’4″ and weighs over 245 pounds. There aren’t too many players in the NFL that he couldn’t run over with a full head of steam.

The thing about Henry and Lewis is that as a tandem, they infinitely better than if they could be apart. They perfectly cover up each other’s weaknesses and they both match up well with Marcus Mariota.

Stopping Henry and Lewis will be one of the most key things to beat the Titans on Monday Night Football to extend the winning streak and further lock up the AFC South. Fortunately, the Houston Texans have a top-five run defense both in total yards allowed, 960 yards, and yards per rush, 3.7. Tennessee has the 14th best rushing offense, running for 3.9 yards a carry to a tune of 1,117 total yards.

So, it would seem that the Texans have a distinct advantage on this front. However, the vast majority of the time in Titans victories, their run game has triggered a strong passing attack and that balanced offense has led them to those wins. The Texans are going to need to make sure the Titans can’t establish the run and they’ll have an easier job getting the victory.

The Texans have been without one of their leading run defenders in Zach Cunningham since he went down with a knee injury in week eight against the Dolphins. Cunningham is expected to make his return to the field this week which should improve the Texans run defense as he is fast enough and agile enough to match up with Lewis and big enough to stick it in there with Henry.

The Texans are also going to need Benardrick McKinney, who is slightly bigger than Henry, to continue his phenomenal season and slow down the Titans running game. Solid run help from Tyrann Mathieu and Justin Reid will also be needed in run support, but the Texans shouldn’t have an issue ultimately shutting down their rushing attack.