The Tennessee Titans have a record of 8-2, yet fly under the radar. Despite the injury to star running back Derrick Henry, Mike Vrabel’s team keeps winning merrily. Will the trip go all the way to the Super Bowl?

Munich – With the injury and long layoff of Derrick Henry, it seemed like the Tennessee Titans’ season was over.

But even without arguably the NFL’s best running back, head coach Mike Vrabel’s team has moved to the top of the AFC.

Flying under the radar to 8-2.

Even without “King Henry,” it’s on

On matchday 8, Henry injured his foot. In the meantime, the 27-year-old has undergone successful surgery. A return in the current season is not ruled out, but might not be realistic until the start of the playoffs.

Until his injury, the superstar was on his way to setting a new record for rushing yards. Henry’s name dominated every article, every story, every news item revolving around the Titans.

That makes Tennessee’s current surge without the “King” all the more surprising.

Ryan Tannehill and company won back-to-back games against the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints. All playoff contenders from last season, so by no means a foregone conclusion. A winning streak that was only briefly interrupted by the New York Jets (of all teams).

Performers put up average numbers

And yet it’s not other big names that now dominate every article, every story, every news story on the Titans. Julio Jones, for example, or A.J. Brown or Ryan Tannehill.

Rather, the coverage of the Titans has simply diminished. No Henry, no story.

One possible reason: despite successful results, none of the stars not named Henry has really been convincing as far as the bare numbers are concerned.

So far, Tannehill is playing the kind of season Tannehill plays. After ten weeks, there are twelve touchdowns and eight interceptions on the stat sheet, in addition to the quarterback himself running into the end zone five times. A.J. Brown has only scored three touchdowns so far, Julio Jones, who is also injured at the moment, has not even visited the end zone yet.

The star is the team

But the collective works. Kinda.

27.8 points scored per game are the fifth best value in the league. In addition, the defence plays rock solid, is in the safe midfield in almost all statistics.

Vrabel explicitly praised the defensive unit after the win on Game 9 against the Los Angeles Rams: “These guys played fantastic. It was fun to watch. We think the defence is playing with a lot of confidence right now.”

After six straight wins averaging just 20 points allowed, no wonder.

Travel to the Super Bowl?

Now imagine Henry returns strong and dominates the field and the clock again, now imagine Jones stays healthy and finally makes music in the “Music City” – the Titans could actually be on a roll into February.

Also, because the AFC looks more open than it has in a long time due to the Chiefs’ weak phase, Tennessee beckons its first Super Bowl appearance since 2000.

By then, however, the Titans will no longer be flying under the radar.