Derrick Henry has had a Thursday night to remember, that’s undoubtable. Henry had 238 yards on 17 carries with four touchdowns and over 40% of that came on an excellent 99-yard in the second quarter. After the Jacksonville Jaguars failed to score on 1st-and-Goal from the 2 and turned it over on downs (including three failed runs by fourth overall pick Leonard Fournette), the Tennessee Titans took over at their own 1. On the very first attempt, Henry pushed through the trenches and after stiff-arming cornerback A.J. Bouye, managed to dance the sidelines and mostly run away from the defense for the score.
Derrick Henry just treated a group of grown men like Apple updates that he keeps clicking "remind me tomorrow" on pic.twitter.com/K4iOwy8VeO
— Zito (@_Zeets) December 7, 2018
The run was fantastic to watch and displayed great footwork, speed, and strategy by Henry, including his use of hands to maneuver around two or three would-be tacklers, but immediate comparisons to Marshawn Lynch’s “Beastquake” run in the 2010 playoffs against the New Orleans Saints were just as quickly shot down by just about everyone else.
For good reason. Lynch’s run not only came in the playoffs with the game on the line in the fourth quarter, but it involved so many more broken tackles. So many more points where you thought, “Well, the play is definitely over here.” So many more “Holy Shit” moments as Lynch barreled through the Saints for a game-sealing touchdown that for most backs would’ve been a zero-gain play.
Derrick Henry's run vs. the original Beast Quake.@KingHenry_2 @MoneyLynch @Titans #JAXvsTEN #TNF pic.twitter.com/F9cMiBQIS1
— NFL Throwback (@nflthrowback) December 7, 2018
The tweets and responses to comparisons tell a story that pretty much everyone agrees with: Lynch’s run was better and there’s no basis for comparison.
Both were great, Lynch’s was better.
— Paul Moehringer (@PMoehringer) December 7, 2018
Not even close to the beast quake.
— Barry Badrinath (@sunilb23) December 7, 2018
People who say that was better than Beastquake need to rewatch Beastquake. (And recheck the stakes of the game) Did Henry break more than 2 tackles? It was awesome though.
— Field Gulls (@FieldGulls) December 7, 2018
...And shook the earth.
— Dom Lewis (@Dommy_Digital) December 7, 2018
It was good but don’t be a prisoner of the moment
— JC (@JCole_301) December 7, 2018
Let’s remind everyone that is caught in the moment....
— Will Blackmon (@WillBlackmon) December 7, 2018
Henry’s run was crazy. But not better than this.
pic.twitter.com/DQ0ZpnLXC9
Agreed https://t.co/FyD3KeuWM0
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) December 7, 2018
No. No he didn’t.
— Rudolph is my spirit animal (@sky8632) December 7, 2018
Don’t ever disrespect marshawn like that again
— Raki (@trashnerdboy) December 7, 2018
It’s not even close....
— Wussell Rilson (@RealBumperStain) December 7, 2018
Congrats to Derrick Henry for getting into the conversation, even if the conversation is carried by Marshawn Lynch and runs right over all comers.