The Tennessee Titans should have been unanimously moving up in the NFL power rankings of experts after their Week 8 win over the Indianapolis Colts, but the injury to running back Derrick Henry has some experts moving them backwards.
In our latest weekly round-up we begin with USA TODAY’s Nate Davis, who has the Titans moving back seven spots from No. 6 to No. 13 following the injury to Henry.
13. Titans (6): They’ve clawed their way to the AFC’s best record. Unfortunately, without injured All-Pro RB Derrick Henry, it won’t last. Tennessee has banked enough equity to hang on for another AFC South crown but hard to view this team as anything more than a one-and-done playoff squad.
The Titans are still in a great position to win the AFC South with a three-game lead and head-to-head tie-breaker over the Colts, but going far in the playoffs will be almost impossible if Henry doesn’t return beforehand.
The best-case scenario is the Titans weather the storm and get Henry back right before the playoffs, which is possible based on the 6 to 10 week timeline reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
While there are indeed a few experts moving the Titans back in their power rankings, others are waiting to see how things shake out without Henry before doing so.
Before we get to the round-up, a note: some of these power rankings were done before the Henry injury was announced, therefore they don’t reflect his loss. You can tell which ones by the lack of a mention of Henry’s injury.
