Week 2 Preseason Recap – Tennessee Titans vs. St. Louis Rams
ST. LOUIS – On August 20, the Titans and Rams had their second preseason game of the year. The Rams are coming off an impressive win at home last week against the Indianapolis Colts and the Titans are coming off a defensive win at home last week against the Minnesota Vikings.
Pre-game notes: Chris Johnson, RB for the Titans, is still holding out over his contract situation, so he was not at the game. Kenny Britt, WR for the Titans, was held out of the game because of his hamstring injury. On the Rams side, James Laurinaitis, LB for the Rams, played in his first game of the year due to his pectoral injury, as did Mike Sims-Walker, WR. Tennessee hasn’t won a road preseason game since 2008.
1st quarter:
On 1st-and-10 at the STL 17, Sam Bradford, starting QB for the Rams, threw a deep middle pass to Brandon Gibson, WR, which resulted in a touchdown and extra point by K Josh Brown. Rams 7 Titans 0
On 4th-and-3 at the STL 28, Rob Bironas, K for the Titans, successfully kicked a 46-yard field goal. Rams 7 Titans 3
On 1st-and-10 at the STL 31, Sam Bradford, threw a medium pass intended for WR Mike Sims-Walker, but was intercepted by Alterraun Verner, CB, who returned it for 15 yards to STL 34.
On 1st-and-goal at the 1, Jamie Harper, backup RB for the Titans, rushed the ball up the middle, and it resulted in a touchdown and extra point by K Rob Bironas. Rams 7 Titans 10
On 4th-and-12 at the STL 21, Donnie Jones, P for the Rams, punted the ball 44 yards and it was returned for 14 yards to the TEN 49.
On 4th-and-5 at the STL 7, Bironas successfully kicked a 25-yard field goal. Rams 7 Titans 13
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2nd quarter:
On 4th-and-25 at the STL 29, Jones punted the ball 46 yards and it was returned for no gain to the TEN 25.
On 4th-and-4 at the TEN 31, Brett Kern, P for the Titans, punted the ball 41 yards and it was returned for no gain to the STL 28.
On 4th-and-19 at the STL 45, Jones punted the ball 35 yards and a fair catch was called at the TEN 20.
On 4th-and-goal at the 5, Bironas successfully kicked a 23-yard field goal. Rams 7 Titans 16
On 4th-and-5 at the STL 33, Jones punted the ball 54 yards and it was returned for 1 yard to the TEN 14.
3rd quarter:
On 1st-and-10 at the TEN 48, Jake Locker, backup QB for the Titans, threw a medium pass intended for WR J. Cook, but was intercepted by James Butler, CB, who returned it for 33 yards to TEN 21.
On 2nd-and-8 at the TEN 19, A. J. Feeley, backup QB for the Rams, threw a deep outside pass to Donnie Avery, WR, which resulted in a touchdown and extra point by K Josh Brown. Rams 14 Titans 16
On 4th-and-9 at the TEN 39, Kern punted the ball 55 yards and it was returned for 17 yards to the STL 23.
On 4th-and-7 at the STL 26, Jones punted the ball 46 yards and it was returned for -3 yards to the TEN 25.
On 4th-and-13 at the TEN 22, Kern punted the ball 43 yards and it was returned for no gain to the STL 35.
On 4th-and-13 at the TEN 45, Jones punted the ball 33 yards and it downed at the TEN 12.
4th quarter:
On 4th-and-2 at the TEN 47, C. Cunningham, backup P for the Titans, punted the ball 40 yards and it was fair caught at the STL 13.
On 4th-and-10 at the STL 10, Jones punted the ball 48 yards and it was returned for -1 yards to the STL 22.
On 4th-and-8 at the TEN 43, Cunningham punted the ball 35 yards and it was downed at the STL 22.
On 4th-and-4 at the STL 40, Jones punted the ball 51 yards and it was returned for 17 yards to the TEN 26.
On 4th-and-16 at the STL 37, Cunningham punted the ball 28 yards and it was fair caught at the STL 9.
On 3rd-and-11 at the TEN 24, Brown successfully kicked a 42-yard field goal. Rams 17 Titans 16 End game
Post-game notes: Rodger Saffold, LT for the Rams, went out of the game early because of a minor back injury. Rams WR Donnie Avery managed to catch a touchdown pass in his first game back since his injury from last year’s preseason. The Titans’ Matt Hasselbeck, QB for the Titans, got shaken up pretty badly on his final play, but was uninjured. Titans DE Jason Jones was carted off after playing from an injury from the first play of the game, but wore a brace in the second half on the sidelines and should be back for week 3.
In a win that wasn’t deserved, the Rams triumphed over the CJ2K-less Titans 17-16. The Rams had seven penalties, as opposed to only two penalties last week (Titans ended up with eight). They also only had one rushing first down. The Titans dominated the Rams in rushing yards (198 to 44) and average gain per rush (5.7 to 2.1). However, the Titans failed to take advantage in the red zone, only converting one of three for a touchdown. The Rams led in passing yards and kickoff returns/yardage, though the Titans led in time of possession and total net yards. The Titans’ road game losing streak continues. The season is not looking as good for the Rams, even though they are now 2-0 in the preseason, but I would still be very surprised if the Rams do not win this year’s division and make the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
By Trevor Roe
ProFootball-fans.com St. Louis Rams Correspondent