NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Marcus Mariota threw a touchdown pass and the Tennessee Titans earned a 34-27 preseason win over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday.
The Titans (1-1), who were held to just three points last week against the New York Jets, scored on their first three possessions against Carolina, with help from one long drive and two Panthers turnovers.
Mariota, who finished 6 of 8 for 61 yards and one touchdown, completed a 20-yard pass to rookie receiver Taywan Taylor and then added a 9-yard run on the first two plays of the game. The Titans had auctioned the first two play calls to a fan for charity.
That drive ended with Ryan Succop's 34-yard field goal, but was just the beginning of the scoring for the Titans in the first quarter.
On the first play from scrimmage for the Panthers (1-1), Derek Anderson, playing for an injured Cam Newton for the second straight week, completed a pass to Devin Funchess, who had the ball knocked loose by cornerback Logan Ryan.
Kevin Byard recovered and returned the ball to the Carolina 13, where the Titans scored on Mariota's 4-yard touchdown pass to Delanie Walker.
"It was a lot better (than last week)," Mariota said. "I thought we came out fast, made a couple of big plays, were able to go down and score. The defense got a huge, huge turnover."
That was the end of the day for Mariota, but not for the Titans.
Tennessee's defense took the ball away again on Carolina's next possession, as Justin Staples intercepted a pass intended for tight end Greg Olsen that rookie linebacker Jayon Brown tipped into the air.
Derrick Henry then took the handoff on the first play from scrimmage and went 17 yards for a touchdown, as Tennessee built a 17-0 lead with 2:02 left in the first quarter.
"It's a great sign. That's what we have to have," Titans coach Mike Mularkey said. "That's our intent. When you've got a lot of guys around the ball where they're supposed to be, good things happen, and that's exactly what happened."
The Panthers got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter as first-round pick Christian McCaffrey had a 17-yard touchdown run to make it 17-7.
The Titans answered with another scoring drive, with Henry scoring his second touchdown, a 1-yard run that capped a 14-play, 75-yard drive.
Carolina got a 46-yard field goal from Harrison Butker to make it 24-10. McCaffrey took a screen pass 38 yards to help set up the kick.
Carolina pulled within 24-17 in the third quarter on Cameron Artis-Payne's 1-yard score.
In the end, the Titans needed another turnover -- a sack and forced fumble by Aaron Wallace that Jimmy Staten recovered at the 3-yard line -- to set up David Fluellen's touchdown -- to pull out the win.
Seahawks 20, Vikings 13
SEATTLE -- Russell Wilson looked just fine throwing for 206 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, but the Seattle Seahawks suffered a significant injury loss to left tackle George Fant in their victory over the Minnesota Vikings Friday night.
Wilson picked apart a Vikings secondary that played without starting cornerback Trey Waynes and safety Andrew Sedenjo, completing 13 of 18 passes. He hit Kasen Williams on a 1-yard touchdown pass and found Mike Davis on a 22-yard catch-and-run TD late in the first half.
The Seahawks have lost Fant likely for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee, throwing the offensive line into flux with two weeks remaining in the preseason.
Fant was injured midway through the second quarter when he was rolled into by teammate Justin Britt and immediately fell to the turf in pain. The team training staff attended to Fant on the field and placed an air splint around his lower right leg before he was taken away.
The injury may have significantly changed Seattle's plans. Fant took over at left tackle midway through last season and spent the offseason reshaping his body to be stronger going into this season. Earlier this week offensive line coach Tom Cable said Seattle was set on the left side of the offensive line with Fant at tackle and Luke Joeckel at guard.
Fant's injury overshadowed what was an otherwise solid performance by the Seahawks. Williams continued to make a bid for a roster spot with an acrobatic 27-yard catch, followed by his 1-yard TD on Seattle's opening drive. He nearly had a second TD but couldn't haul in a deep pass from Wilson near the goal line in the second quarter.
Minnesota's Sam Bradford was 7 of 11 for 95 yards, leading three drives for the Vikings before calling it a night. Taylor Heinicke threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Bucky Hodges in the fourth quarter.
Sports on 08/20/2017