Derrick Henry would have given Bo Jackson a run for his money in Tecmo Bowl

Watching Derrick Henry run the ball all over opponents looks and feels like a live-action video game. Henry has rushed for 240 yards this season, and 201 have come after contact. Joe Mixon of the Cincinnati Bengals is second in rushing with 196 yards. Henry has been the beast back of the league the past couple of years.

The beast in the backfield for the Tennessee Titans is already racking up statistics through his first two games of the season that are reminiscent of one game in particular.

We’ve already pointed out that in high school, Henry’s numbers looked like a Madden glitch. But had he been around in the Tecmo Bowl days, he would have been just as illegal to use when playing against friends as Bo Jackson had been for the Raiders. Bo knows Tecmo Bowl. Jackson was one of the biggest video game cheat codes ever, because he was so much faster than every player on opposing defenses. It didn’t matter what team you picked against Bo or which Hall of Fame players you had on defense. Go ahead and pick the New York Giants and Lawrence Taylor. It didn’t matter. Bo ran through ‘em like gas station toilet paper.

King Henry would be the same running back as Jackson in Tecmo Bowl, but slightly less quick. But Henry’s tackle-breaking attribute would be outrageously off the meter, so he wouldn’t need to outrun anyone. He’d just throw a mean stiff arm or forearm shiver and run over defenders instead. Henry throws the most violent and humiliating stiff-arm we may have ever seen on the college or professional football level. We hear complaints all the time about how “SAWFT” the NFL has become over the last decade-plus. There ain’t nothing soft about Henry and his running style or ability. Anyone tough enough to take Henry’s stiff-arm of doom head-on, I commend you.

Although I wish defensive backs would quit attempting to tackle Henry up high like he’s some 175-pound wide receiver. The dude is 6-foot-3 and weighs close to 250. A defensive back trying to arm-tackle Henry is about as absurd as Larry Elder running for governor of California. Don’t do it guys, just go for the legs. Only bad things happen when you try to tackle Tecmo King Henry up high.