It’s a tale of two Heisman Trophy winners

It’s a tale of two Heisman Trophy winners in Saturday’s game one of the National Football League playoffs’ second round.

One is third-year quarterback Joe Burrow of the surprising Cincinnati Bengals, the American Football Conference champions who rose from last to first and then got past the visiting Las Vegas Raiders, 26-19, in round one of the wild card played last week before a packed house at Brown Stadium.

Now it’s step number two for Burrow and company. He already has his 2020 Heisman Trophy and national championship won while with Louisiana State his senior season. Now he hits the road for Nashville with a franchise that is 0-7 there dating back to 1970.

And while Burrow and the 11-7 Bengals are in quest of ending that, the other Heisman winner, running back Derrick Henry is questionable after being sidelined with an injury affecting his left and right foot to the steel plate that remains in his right foot.

Henry goes 6-foot-3, 247 pounds, is tough to bring down when you mix in his strength and speed, and says he’s optimistic about taking the field for the top-seeded Titans (12-5) who he was the 2020 NFL offensive player of the year.

So Tennessee took the big step and moved Henry from injured reserve to the active roster, and with the former Alabama stellar running back named the Heisman winner in 2015 speaking with reporters for the first time Wednesday since breaking his foot Oct. 31.

So will he play Saturday?

“We’ll see how this week goes,” he said, “and we’ll see where I’m at on Saturday.”

While Burrow did have a knee injury in the 10th game of the Bengals’ dismal 4-11-1-1 season in 2010, this was the first time that Henry had ever dealt with an injury during the football season.

“It was definitely shocking,” he said. “And I had to turn my attention sugary and working my way back to the football field.”

The injury cost him the final nine games of this campaign, but the NFL’s 2019 and 2020 rushing leader still finished the season with 937 yards.

He said he appreciates everyone who helped get him to this point. Tennessee, which began making headway last year, earned the 21-day window for him to practice with the team Jan. 5. and also gave him an extra week to work himself closer to game shape when it earned the AFC’s first round bye and No. 1 seed.

He is not on the injury list that includes the Titans’ defensive lineman Naquan Jones (knee) and corner back Buster Skrine (hamstring), while the Cincinnati list had limited practice for defensive end Trey Hendrickson (concussion), wide receiver Stanley Morgan (hamstring) and defensive tackle Jos Tipou (knee).

Those that missed a full practice were corner backs Jalen Davis and Mike Hilton with ankle injuries, and defensive end Sam Hubbard (ribs).

Meanwhile, Burrow has become the toast of the Bengals as they seek their first road playoff win in team history. He’s turned out to be the combination of confidence, work ethic, leadership and guts the downtrodden Cincinnati sought when its drafted him in the first round overall in 2020.

“We trust in Joe,” said coach Zac Taylor. “The more I’ve been around, I’ve learned to just shut my mouth and let the magic occur.”

Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel also responded with praise for Burrow.

“He (Burrow) just has a very good feel for making all the throws,” Vrabel said, “and is very elusive in the pocket and takes care of the football.”

Following the victory over Las Vegas, Burrow remained cool.

“I think our fans were excited,” he said, “and I’m happy for them, but I try to downplay it and all that because this is how it’s going to be from here on out. It was a great win for us, but this is the standard, the bare minimum every year going forward.”

Next stop is Nashville’s Music City where the Titans will have their fans’ support and hopeful that Henry is back carrying the ball.

Game time is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m.kickoff on CBS.