 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
Victory, with a price Titans lose Kearse to injury in defeat vs. RaidersPosted: Friday August 16, 2002 12:00 AMUpdated: Friday August 16, 2002 3:13 PM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Tennessee Titans could do little wrong Thursday night. The Oakland Raiders couldn't do much of anything right. Steve McNair threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Mason, and the Titans added two more TDs in the first quarter off Oakland turnovers for a 24-14 exhibition victory over the Raiders. The Titans (2-0) beat the Raiders (0-2) in their first preseason game since 1994 by scoring two touchdowns within the span of 12 seconds and adding a third less than nine minutes into the first quarter. Playing their second road exhibition in six days, the sloppy Raiders lost four turnovers, allowed three sacks and were penalized nine times. Last week, McNair failed to complete his first nine passes of the preseason and fumbled on his first play. Not against Oakland. He took just six plays to move the Titans 72 yards and capped the drive with a perfect toss to wide-open Mason down the left sideline for a 7-0 lead at 12:47. "It was just like pitch and catch for me out there," McNair said. Oakland, still looking for its first victory under new coach Bill Callahan, gave the ball back immediately when rookie Larry Ned let the kickoff go through his arms, and the Titans recovered at the Raiders' 11. Kevin Dyson scored on the next play, taking a reverse left and cutting back for the TD and a 14-0 lead. Rich Gannon, who played only one series in last week's loss to Dallas, played three against Tennessee. His first lasted three plays when Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck intercepted a pass that went off Jerry Rice's hands. Gannon did manage one TD drive and was 6-of-10 for 50 yards, but it wasn't enough. "It was garbage to be honest with you," Gannon said. "We weren't effective. We have to come out and start better than the way we did, especially on the road." The Raiders cut down their penalties from 17 last week, but their timing was horrible. An unsportsmanlike call against Eric Barton kept alive the Titans' third drive on third-and-6, and Eddie George scored from a yard out with 6:15 to go and a 21-0 lead before heading to the bench. George finished with eight carries for 32 yards, while McNair was 4-of-7 for 75 yards. Tennessee finally slowed with backup quarterback Neil O'Donnell playing for the first time this preseason. He was 6-of-11 for 67 yards, and Skip Hicks, fighting Robert Holcombe to be George's backup, had 17 carries for 44 yards. Gannon managed to move the Raiders on one good drive before leaving. He moved them 77 yards in 12 plays before Tyrone Wheatley scored on a 4-yard TD run with 12:09 left in the second. Backup Marques Tuiasosopo was sacked twice and found himself under constant pressure from the Titans' second-team defense, and Rick Mirer added a 6-yard TD run with 28 seconds left. Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who missed wide left from 52 and 47 yards last week, was wide right on a 29-yarder just before the end of the first half. Notes: Titans DE Jevon Kearse sat out with a bruised left elbow, but rookie Carlos Hall got a sack for his fourth in two games. ... Titans WR Drew Bennett bruised his hip, and RB John Simon strained his right quad muscle. ... Oakland rookie Ronald Curry fumbled twice in the second half, losing a kickoff at the end of a 26-yard return to start the third quarter and grabbing the ball back after a punt in the fourth.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
