Brown, Young lead Titans past Jags

Sep 9, 2007, 20:51 GMT

Jacksonville, FL - Chris Brown ran for 175 yards and Vince Young rushed for a score, as the Tennessee Titans downed the Jacksonville Jaguars, 13-10, in the season-opener for both squads.

Young ended 11-of-18 passing for only 78 yards with an interception for the Titans (1-0). However, it was Young's two-yard TD run with 59 seconds left in the third quarter that gave Tennessee the lead for good.

David Garrard, in his first start for the Jags without Byron Leftwich on the team, ended 17-of-30 passing for 204 yards with a touchdown. Maurice Jones- Drew recorded just 60 yards of offense and his fumble inside the red zone in the fourth quarter cost Jacksonville at a chance for at least a tie.

Trailing 10-6 late in the third quarter, Young put the Titans on top by capping a 12-play, 79-yard drive with a two-yard TD run. The possession took over 6 1/2 minutes off the clock and saw Brown rush for 35 yards, including runs of 14 and 13 yards.

Jacksonville answered with a lengthy drive, bringing the ball deep into Titans' territory early in the fourth quarter. However, Jones-Drew, after a reception that would have gone for about 20 yards to the Titans' eight, had the ball knocked out of his hands by teammate Marcedes Lewis and Chris Hope recovered for the Titans.

Jacksonville had two more possessions, but had to punt with 7:46 left and again with 2:46 on the clock. Tennessee managed to run out the clock from there, getting a pair of first downs.

'We passed a difficult test,' said Titans head coach Jeff Fisher. 'It was good win for this team, to win the opener on the road, against a good team.'

The outcome might've been different for the Jaguars had kicker Josh Scobee been healthy. Scobee injured his leg during warm ups and was only able to hit chip shots. He connected on a 22-yarder and PAT in the first half, but in the third quarter his leg hurt too much to attempt a 28-yarder.

Prior to the Titans taking over for their touchdown drive, the Jags brought the ball all the way to the Tennessee 19-yard-line. However, the team was forced to go for it on 4th-and-10 and failed.

'We didn't even have a field goal available to us,' said head coach Jack Del Rio. 'Obviously, you lose the game by three points, that's a dramatic swing there, to not have that available to you.'

Jones-Drew ended with 32 yards rushing and 28 receiving for the Jags, who lost for only the second time in five games versus the Titans.

'Anytime you lose an opener at home against a division opponent, is disappointing,' said Del Rio. 'It's not the way you want to start your season.'

LenDale White ended with 66 yards rushing and Young had 22 yards on the ground for Tennessee, which lost to the Jags both times they played last season.

'It goes to show how the loss of a key player like Scobee can changes the game completely,' said Fisher. 'They were put in that situation where they had to convert a fourth-and-10. I think that was a turning point in the game because they couldn't take a shot at the field goal.'

The Titans got on the board first when Rod Bironas booted a 20-yard field goal with 4:03 left in the opening quarter. However, the Jags answered right back.

On the second play of the ensuing drive, John Broussard made an outstanding diving catch of a Garrard toss in the end zone to put Jacksonville on top 7-3. The 47-yard pass play was set-up when Tennessee's Albert Haynesworth was called for a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty following the play prior.

Two turnovers then cost the Titans. First, White was stopped on 4th-and-goal at the one-yard-line, giving the ball to the Jags. Then, after holding Jacksonville, Young was picked off by Rashean Mathis, who brought the ball to the Tennessee 29 to set up a 22-yard field goal by Scobee at the 4:19 mark of the second quarter.

Bironas managed to connect on a 31-yard field goal with 43 seconds left in the half to cut the deficit to 10-6 heading into halftime.

Game Notes

Broussard ended with two catches for 55 yards...Dennis Northcutt led the Jags' receivers with four catches for 57 yards...Justin Gage led the Titans with two catches for 26 yards...Garrard fell to 10-9 as a starter.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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