When the Miami Dolphins traded their young star running back, Jay Ajayi, to the Philadelphia Eagles it looked like they were destined for a tank job. Instead, they may have found yet another stud back in former Alabama star, Kenyan Drake.
In a loss to the Carolina Panthers earlier this season, Drake showed off his trademark explosiveness going for 82 yards and a score on just seven carries. In today’s decimation of the Denver Broncos, however, he notched career highs all around. He finished with 120 yards and a score – topping his previous high in rushing yards by 40 – on more than double his average carries with 23 attempts. Watch how he slips through the entire Broncos front seven en route to the endzone:
That's a 42 yd rush for Kenyan Drake…#FinsUp 26#BroncosCountry 9#DENvsMIA pic.twitter.com/VLxWiJscao
— TRSN Denver (@TRSNDenver) December 3, 2017
It is not as if he was playing the Browns, either. Instead, he was going up against one of the best run defenses the NFL has to offer. Today’s performance, combined and the Dolphins’ all-around offensive success, should mean more carries for Drake going forward.
His Heisman-winning counterpart from Tuscaloosa, Derrick Henry, also had another late break out run today for the Tennessee Titans. Henry turned an underwhelming 34 yard outing into an impressive 109 yard day with this game-icing 75-yard score:
Derrick Henry is the CLOSER! #TitanUp pic.twitter.com/WeLkxCMwvm
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) December 3, 2017
Even for his size Derrick Henry is one of the fastest running backs in the league when in open space. The fact that he was able to bolt past an entire Texans’ defense – while they were expecting a run – well represents his game changing abilities. DeMarco Murray is still the guy in Tennessee, for now, but a passing of the torch could reasonably soon be in store.
The excellent outings from these two fan favorites puts the icing on the cake for what has been a great day for Alabama fans already with today’s playoffs announcement.
