Is Derrick Henry playing tonight vs Chiefs in Week 9? 

Without AJ Brown this year, Derrick Henry's stranglehold on leading the team's offense has only gotten stronger. However, bellcow running backs all have one massive downside. With all of the action comes a lot of hits and the odds for an injury increase as the season goes on.

Since he missed a large chunk of 2021, fans are nervous that they could be in for a repeat this year. How is Henry's health going into the team's toughest matchup of the year?

Put simply, the running back is a full go for the Sunday Night Football matchup against Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs. Based on the exigent circumstances surrounding the team, Henry could be in for his biggest game of the season, which is saying something.

Derrick Henry's fantasy football update and predictions

Derrick Henry

First and foremost, starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill is dealing with an ankle injury and is listed as questionable for the game. Last week, the veteran quarterback missed the contest and rookie Malik Willis made his first start of the season.

To make things easier on the rookie, they leaned on Derrick Henry and the running back exploded.

In the game, he earned a season-high 32 attempts for 219 yards and two touchdowns. If Tannehill doesn't play this week, he will be in line for another such performance.

There is another reason for the Titans to lean into the running game. Considering how explosive the Chiefs' offense is, the Titans will have no hope but to lean into the running game. Games with a lot of running plays are shorter in length, giving Mahomes fewer chances to take the field and score more touchdowns.

As such, leaning into the running back is doubly likely in this matchup. This, of course, will invite the Chiefs to stack the line of scrimmage. However, with Willis starting last week, many expected the same and Henry still feasted. Will the Chiefs linebackers be able to hold back the tide?

However, if the Chiefs get an early lead and the Titans fail to score early, there is a chance that the Titans will be forced to throw early and often. For most teams, this would script out the running back, but their current running back is so instrumental to their offense that they simply cannot afford to stop running the ball.

Expect the running back to have at least 25 touches in the contest, unless they fall behind by 21 or more points.