NFL Update: Tennessee Titans prevail over New Orleans Saints in the preseason finale (Second Half)
The third quarter was the most hotly contested with both sides putting pressure on each other. Tennessee’s streak of penalties continued into the 3rd quarter. Garrett Hartley kicked off from the New Orleans 30 yard line to Tennessee 16. Wide receiver Marc Mariani carried the ball to the New Orleans 46 yard line but a Penalty on Donnie Nickey pushed the Titans back to their 39 yard line.
The first play on the Titans side saw yet another 10 yard penalty. Samkon Gado gained a yard but an offensive holding penalty on Michael Toudouze took the Titans back to their 29 yard line. Gado continued to rack in rushing yards along with quarterback Chris Simms. The quarterback completed 2 passes for 35 yards but ended up fumbling the ball just 15 yards from the end zone. Ball was recovered by New Orleans’s Al Woods without yards gained on the 18 yard line.
The Saints made full use of Simms’ mistake. Leading New Orleans in the second half was Drew Brees’ second backup, quarterback Chase Daniels. First play of the day for Daniels and he threw an 11 yard pass to tight end Jimmy Graham taking the Saints to the 29 yard line. Daniels’ next play earned New Orleans another 13 yards with a pass to wide receiver Courtney Roby. There was a close call for Daniels after he fumbled and almost lost the ball but was able to recover it before the Titans and still managed to make a play out of it with a pass to Graham, this time for 12 yards.
Tennessee gained 70 yards in 9 plays and took a field goal at the 12 yard line which was good. The remaining 5 minutes of the quarter found both teams offenses struggling for yards. The final drive of the quarter for Tennessee started at the 37 yard line. With running back Blount’s 12 yard rush and Chris Simms’ 41 yard pass to wide receiver Mariani, the Titans reached the New Orleans 5 yard line in 5 plays before the 3rd quarter ended. The Titans continued their drive from the 5 yard line and in the very first play of the 4th quarter, Blount rushed up the middle for touchdown.
New Orleans subsequent drive began at the 24 yard line and 5 plays later was still just at the 28 yard line forcing the Saints to Punt.
After a 30 yard drive, the Titans tried to punt the ball. A second time in the game the punt was blocked. This time by Jimmy Graham and recovered by Waters on the Tennessee 23 yard line. The linebacker carried the ball 18 yards to the 5 yard line setting the stage for a New Orleans touchdown. Unfortunately, for New Orleans they still couldn’t get the most out of it.
At the 5 yard line, with Chase Daniels at the helm, the New Orleans drive opened with a loss of one yard. In the very next play, Daniels fumbled the ball. Although the Saints retained possession, they lost 12 yards in the play. The next blow came as Courtney Brown was penalized 5 yards for a false start sending the Saints to the 23 yard line. The Titans defence came out on top again, as Howard pushed through the Saints offensive line to sack the quarterback on the 23 yard line. The Saints then took up field goal formation and ended the drive with a 41 yard field goal.
LaVelle Blount opened the Tennessee drive at the 20 yard line with 6 and 5 yard rushes. A 9 yard pass and 3 yard rush later, the Titans had reached the 43 yard line. Quarterback Smith then threw a 45 yard deep right pass at Dominique Edison. In the final 12 yard, Pearman took over for the Titans with 4, 3 and 5 yard plays for touchdown. With only 3 minutes left in play the Saints were in a hurry to catch up with the Titans.
Wide receiver Billings took the Tennessee 69 yard kick from the 30 yard line to the New Orleans 33 yard line. Chase Daniels continued the yards gain with a 31 yard deep right pass to wide receiver Arrington followed by a 35 yard deep left pass again to Arrington for touchdown. The Saints opted for the two-point conversion and with a pass to Courtney Roby, the attempt was successful. The Saints trailed just 3 points behind the Titans.
Titans, still plagued by penalties, lost possession quickly and the final play of the game began at the 29 yard line with just under 2 minutes left in the game. With a combination of 6, 12 and 4 yard passes to Betts and Arrington, Daniels took the Saints up to the 47 yard line and called a timeout with 50 seconds left. The Saints caught a break when defensive pass interference propelled them 25 yards almost to the redzone. After an 8 yards pass to the 16 yard line Daniels spiked the ball to stop the clock with 17 seconds left.
In the last play for the Saints, Daniels threw a deep middle pass at Lorenzon, which was intercepted by McRath in the end zone. Titans Quarterback Smith took a knee and with that, the game ended.
The Titans won 27 to 24 against the Saints.
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