ATLANTA (AP) — Kendell Brooks scored on a 53-yard interception return and rookie quarterback Cameron Ward had mixed results as the Tennessee Titans beat the Atlanta Falcons 23-20 in a preseason game Friday night.
Joey Slye’s 23-yard field goal with 9:03 remaining gave Tennessee (1-1) the lead.
Falcons backup quarterback Emory Jones was stopped on a fourth-down run near the Tennessee 20 with 2:57 remaining. Jones was shaken up on the hit by linebacker Amari Burney and cornerback Jemari Harris. Jones walked off the field with assistance.
Ward played three series and completed 2 of 7 passes for 42 yards. Ward’s highlight was a 35-yard completion to Elic Ayomanor on the Titans’ opening series. Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, had another long pass dropped by Van Jefferson.
The teams traded third-quarter touchdowns. Jemar Jefferson’s 16-yard scoring run, which capped a 13-play drive, gave the Titans a 20-13 lead. Easton Stick, who played the first three quarters for Atlanta, threw a 52-yard scoring pass to Chris Blair to tie the game.
Brandon Allen, who played behind Ward, threw a 25-yard scoring pass to tight end Gunnar Helm late in the first half.
Nathan Carter produced the Falcons’ first touchdown with a 43-yard run in the third quarter. Younghoe Koo kicked field goals of 42 and 36 yards for Atlanta (0-2).
SEAHAWKS 33, CHIEFS 16
SEATTLE (AP) — Sam Darnold looked the part of a franchise quarterback in his first appearance at Lumen Field as Seattle beat Kansas City.
Darnold, who did not appear in the Seattle Seahawks’ preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, completed 4 of 4 passes for 34 yards on the opening drive.
Darnold, who signed to a three-year, $100.5 million contract with Seattle in the offseason, made good use of both his legs and his tight ends during his sole series.
He had no issues rolling out to either his left or right, locating tight ends AJ Barner and Elijah Arroyo for short passes, as well as fullback Robbie Ouzts and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for deeper completions.
Backup quarterback Drew Lock impressed in relief of Darnold, throwing a couple of touchdown passes to wide receiver Jake Bobo, and completing 10 of 12 passes for 129 yards.
Running backs Zach Charbonnet and Damien Martinez each added touchdowns on the ground in the first and third quarters, respectively.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, did not play quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and other starters from the team that fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in last season’s Super Bowl.
Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew found tight end Robert Tonyan for a 1-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.
The Associated Press
