Chiefs DE Clark: ‘No difficulty in tackling’ Henry
Former NFL linebacker Rob Ninkovich shares the best way to stop Derrick Henry’s notorious stiff-arm. (1:09)
Derrick Henry led the league in rushing this year and has powered the sixth-seeded Tennessee Titans to the AFC Championship Game, but he hasn’t impressed one of the guys who will be charged with tackling him on Sunday.
“He’s not hard to hit,” Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark told NFL Network on Friday. “He’s just a big guy. 240, 245, 250 [pounds]; honestly, he should be running harder at his weight and at his size. I don’t see no difficulty in tackling him … He’s just easy to me up front because I don’t look at any running back like they can’t be tackled. He’s not one of the best guys at breaking tackles to me, honestly.”
Henry has rushed for no fewer than 180 yards in each of his past three games, a string that includes surprise road playoff victories over the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots.
His past eight games have produced historic results. In that span, Henry has gained 1,273 rushing yards, the third most in NFL history. Henry’s 137 rushing yards after contact in last weekend’s win over the Ravens were the most in a game in the past 10 postseasons.
The 6-foot-3, 247-pound running back rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns in a win over the Chiefs in Week 10. That performance had some Kansas City players feeling differently than Clark about having to face Henry and the Titans again.
“It’s going to take a lot of us hitting him and tackling him, more than one guy,” linebacker Anthony Hitchens said Friday. “You’ve got to take his legs out. We’ve talked all week [about] killing the engine, hitting him in his legs and thighs and chopping him down. When you tackle him high, he tends to carry you for about 5 more yards.”
Said Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu on Friday: “The mentality is that somebody is going to have to stop him.. Somebody is going to have to make a tackle on him if we want to get to Miami.”
Information from ESPN’s Adam Teicher and Turron Davenport was used in this report.