The Tennessee Titans suffered a massive blow on Sunday when RB Derrick Henry went down with a foot injury. The injury occurred in the first quarter, but after team trainers looked at his foot, Henry continued playing and ran the ball 28 times for 68 yards.
After Tennessee’s 34-31 overtime win over the Colts, it was announced that Henry’s injury was a broken bone and, thus, more severe than originally thought. Henry underwent surgery on Tuesday, and while the Titans have not put a timeline on an official return, it is believed that Henry will miss the rest of the season.
Henry’s injury has a big effect on the oddsmaking process. RockyTopInsider spoke with DraftKings Director of Race & Sports Operations Johnny Avelo to get a more thorough understanding of how oddsmakers are looking at the Henry injury and how that could affect the Titans’ sports betting odds.
Short Term/Long Term
The Titans will play their first game of the season without Henry on Sunday on the road against the 7-1 Rams. Tennessee was originally listed as 4.5-point underdogs, but Henry’s absence has already shifted the odds in a major way.
Avelo told RockyTopInsider that Henry is worth at least a couple of points. Since the news of Henry’s injury broke, the Titans have moved from 4.5-point underdogs to 7.5-point underdogs.
In terms of winning the AFC South title, Avelo stated that the Titans are still in good shape. Through eight games the Titans are 6-2, and they lead the division by three games over the Colts. Tennessee has already defeated Indianapolis twice this season. Jacksonville and Houston are a combined 2-13, so they don’t figure to be in the running for a division crown. Because of that, Henry’s injury does not drastically change the Titans’ odds at winning their division, and they are -2000 to in that market.
However, changes have been made to Tennessee’s Super Bowl odds.
The Titans entered Sunday’s matchup against the Colts at +1600 odds to win the Super Bowl. After a big division win on the road, one would think those odds would decrease. However, Tennessee is now listed at +2200 to win it all.
Also Read: Tennessee Sports Betting Bonuses
Life Without Derrick Henry
Replacing Henry won’t be easy. He is a massive part of Tennessee’s offense, which feeds him the ball more than any other running back in the league. His 219 rushes lead the league, putting him well ahead of the second-leader rusher, Joe Mixon of the Cincinnati Bengals, who has 137 carries.
Henry also leads the NFL in rushing yards by a wide margin. He has amassed 937 yards on the ground to go along with a league-leading 10 touchdowns. To put things in perspective, Jonathan Taylor of the Colts is the only other running back to have more than 600 rushing yards with 649.
Tennessee’s second-leading rusher behind Henry is QB Ryan Tannehill. Running back Jeremy McNichols figures to get a lot of touches now that Henry is out, and he has just 38 rushing yards on seven attempts this season. The Titans did get some veteran help as they signed Adrian Peterson earlier this week. It will be interesting to see what the Tennessee offense looks like going forward.
