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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Oliver Connolly

The ageless, bruising Derrick Henry is making running backs matter again

Derrick Henry leads the NFL in rushing yards this season
Derrick Henry leads the NFL in rushing yards this season. Photograph: Stephanie Scarbrough/AP

The NFL is a passing league – or so we are told. It’s been that way for close to 20 years. Every new rule, contract, coaching hire and draft slot reinforces that the sport is now engineered to attack or defend the air. But Derrick Henry, it seems, did not get the memo.

In a league that chews up running backs with a ruthlessness that borders on disdain, Henry continues to plough ahead. In his ninth season, the 30-year-old future Hall of Famer tops the league in rushing – again. And it’s not even particularly close. Six weeks in, Henry leads the rushing race by nearly 100 yards over San Francisco’s Jordan Mason, doing so by thumping away between the tackles.

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