Top NFL Divisional Round Parlay
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tennessee Titans
Saturday, January 22, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. ET at Nissan Stadium in Nashville
Derrick Henry's Injury Status
It surely seemed improbable at some point, but Titan superstar running back Derrick Henry seems ready to make his return.
To be precise, he was designated to return from injured reserve on January 5.
This move allowed him to practice. He was not activated from IR for Tennessee's Week 18 game against Houston.
This decision to withhold Henry was probably a consequence of some factors: the Titans shouldn't need Henry to beat Houston, the game was important for seeding purposes but at least the Titans were already in the playoffs, and Henry wasn't quite ready to come back yet.
They definitely didn't want Henry to re-injure himself in a less-important game. It is the expectation that Henry will be ready for Saturday's game against Cincinnati, especially since the Titans gained an extra week to rest him since they earned the number one seed.
Without Henry, the Titans could still earn against Houston a victory to which Henry's top backup, D'Onta Foreman, contributed 21 carries and two receptions.
Foreman is a strong bruising runner who accomplished three 100-yard rushing games in Henry's absence. He nicely complements Dontrell Hilliard who has more speed -- as he showed, for example, in his 68-yard touchdown run against New England -- and is more of a threat in the passing game.
So, especially against a Bengal run defense that has been tormented in recent weeks -- the Bengals are allowing 154.3 rushing yards in their past three games -- the Titans have abundant weapons in the backfield to support quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Henry's Unstated Importance
We all know that Henry is elite at running the ball.
But the respect in which he supports Tannehill too often goes unmentioned.
Without Henry on the field for Tennessee, defenses don't have to devote as much attention to the Titan backfield, such that they can focus more on stopping the pass.
Henry's presence last year thus largely explains why Tannehill's passer rating was 106.5 last year compared to 89.6.
They often say a running back is a quarterback's best friend -- heck, even Blake Bortles was a different referee crew away from making a Super Bowl in an offense that revolved around Leonard Fournette -- and this is true for Henry and Tennessee as well.
Henry The Runner
Henry will represent a major step-up from the running backs that have most recently tormented the Bengal defense.
Last week, Las Vegas' Josh Jacobs ran for 83 yards on 13 carries -- ridiculous offensive line penalties deterred him from accruing more yards.
The week before, Cleveland's D'Ernest Johnson amassed 123 yards on 25 rushes.
Before that, Kansas City's Darrel Williams put up almost identical numbers to Jacob's, even though Kansas City's offense very much revolves around its quarterback.
Henry ran for over 2,000 yards last year and is always a threat to run for over 200 yards.
The Passing Game
With Henry, Tannehill will be a stronger quarterback like he was last year.
Plus, he also boasts Pro Bowler AJ Brown and two-time Pro Bowler Julio Jones at his disposal.
Both players have dealt with injuries, but since Brown's second half against San Francisco and since Julio's decent stat line against Houston after logging consecutive full practices, both wide receivers seem to be in form.
This is a well-established and extremely dangerous pair of wide receivers, one that looks very attractive against Cincinnati's 26th-ranked pass defense.
The Verdict
Cincinnati likes to have a relatively balanced offense. It ranks 19th in pass-play percentage.
Its top running back is Joe Mixon. The problem with Mixon is that he is facing an elite Titan run defense that gave All-Pro Jonathan Taylor, for example, some of his lowest rushing outputs.
Overall, the Titan run defense ranks second as measured by opposing rush yards per game.
I like the Titans because I think they'll be strong both on the ground and through the air while I see the Bengals as having to be more one-dimensional.
With perhaps the hottest quarterback-wide receiver duo in football in Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase, the "over" will hit as the Bengals contribute their share of points.
But the more complete Titans will cover the spread.
Best Bet: Parlay Titans -3 at -115 and Over 46.5 at -115 at +250 odds with BetOnline
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tennessee Titans
Saturday, January 22, 2022 at 4:30 p.m. ET at Nissan Stadium in Nashville
Derrick Henry's Injury Status
It surely seemed improbable at some point, but Titan superstar running back Derrick Henry seems ready to make his return.
To be precise, he was designated to return from injured reserve on January 5.
This move allowed him to practice. He was not activated from IR for Tennessee's Week 18 game against Houston.
This decision to withhold Henry was probably a consequence of some factors: the Titans shouldn't need Henry to beat Houston, the game was important for seeding purposes but at least the Titans were already in the playoffs, and Henry wasn't quite ready to come back yet.
They definitely didn't want Henry to re-injure himself in a less-important game. It is the expectation that Henry will be ready for Saturday's game against Cincinnati, especially since the Titans gained an extra week to rest him since they earned the number one seed.
Without Henry, the Titans could still earn against Houston a victory to which Henry's top backup, D'Onta Foreman, contributed 21 carries and two receptions.
Foreman is a strong bruising runner who accomplished three 100-yard rushing games in Henry's absence. He nicely complements Dontrell Hilliard who has more speed -- as he showed, for example, in his 68-yard touchdown run against New England -- and is more of a threat in the passing game.
So, especially against a Bengal run defense that has been tormented in recent weeks -- the Bengals are allowing 154.3 rushing yards in their past three games -- the Titans have abundant weapons in the backfield to support quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Henry's Unstated Importance
We all know that Henry is elite at running the ball.
But the respect in which he supports Tannehill too often goes unmentioned.
Without Henry on the field for Tennessee, defenses don't have to devote as much attention to the Titan backfield, such that they can focus more on stopping the pass.
Henry's presence last year thus largely explains why Tannehill's passer rating was 106.5 last year compared to 89.6.
They often say a running back is a quarterback's best friend -- heck, even Blake Bortles was a different referee crew away from making a Super Bowl in an offense that revolved around Leonard Fournette -- and this is true for Henry and Tennessee as well.
Henry The Runner
Henry will represent a major step-up from the running backs that have most recently tormented the Bengal defense.
Last week, Las Vegas' Josh Jacobs ran for 83 yards on 13 carries -- ridiculous offensive line penalties deterred him from accruing more yards.
The week before, Cleveland's D'Ernest Johnson amassed 123 yards on 25 rushes.
Before that, Kansas City's Darrel Williams put up almost identical numbers to Jacob's, even though Kansas City's offense very much revolves around its quarterback.
Henry ran for over 2,000 yards last year and is always a threat to run for over 200 yards.
The Passing Game
With Henry, Tannehill will be a stronger quarterback like he was last year.
Plus, he also boasts Pro Bowler AJ Brown and two-time Pro Bowler Julio Jones at his disposal.
Both players have dealt with injuries, but since Brown's second half against San Francisco and since Julio's decent stat line against Houston after logging consecutive full practices, both wide receivers seem to be in form.
This is a well-established and extremely dangerous pair of wide receivers, one that looks very attractive against Cincinnati's 26th-ranked pass defense.
The Verdict
Cincinnati likes to have a relatively balanced offense. It ranks 19th in pass-play percentage.
Its top running back is Joe Mixon. The problem with Mixon is that he is facing an elite Titan run defense that gave All-Pro Jonathan Taylor, for example, some of his lowest rushing outputs.
Overall, the Titan run defense ranks second as measured by opposing rush yards per game.
I like the Titans because I think they'll be strong both on the ground and through the air while I see the Bengals as having to be more one-dimensional.
With perhaps the hottest quarterback-wide receiver duo in football in Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase, the "over" will hit as the Bengals contribute their share of points.
But the more complete Titans will cover the spread.
Best Bet: Parlay Titans -3 at -115 and Over 46.5 at -115 at +250 odds with BetOnline
