Photo: Mike Vrabel Has Clear Message On His Face Mask

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is coming off a Cinderella run to AFC Championship Game last year. In an effort to get back, he’s going to keep doing what works – and he’s letting everyone know with his facemask.

Prior to Tennessee’s Monday Night Football game against the Denver Broncos, Vrabel arrived in Denver wearing a special mask. While it only appears to be a plain black mask, the message on it makes all the difference.

“Please give the ball to Derrick Henry,” Vrabel’s mask says. Henry was the NFL’s leading rusher last season, and almost single-handedly carried the team to the AFC Championship Game.

The Titans have done what they can to build their team around Henry. They’ve signed and drafted several offensive linemen to help him get down the field, and gave Henry a massive contract to keep him in Nashville for the foreseeable future.

The AFC South is usually one of the worst divisions in the NFL in terms of quality, but the Titans have done a solid job of navigating it. They’ve gone 9-7 in each of the last four seasons – the only AFC South team with four straight winning campaigns.

But winning the AFC South outright has been a much bigger challenge. They have not won the AFC South crown since 2008 – the longest drought in the division.

Clearly Mike Vrabel believes that Derrick Henry is going to play a central role in helping them get over that hump this year.

Will Derrick Henry be the NFL’s leading rusher again this year?