Titans beat Raiders on last-second FG
Published 11:49 pm Friday, August 15, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans know they can run the ball. What they want is some offensive balance and a passing threat with Vince Young.
That remains a work in progress.
John Vaughn, filling in for All-Pro Rob Bironas, kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired Friday night to lift the Titans to a 17-16 victory over the Oakland Raiders in an exhibition featuring the first quarterbacks taken in the 2006 and 2007 drafts.
Oakland (1-1) appeared set to remain unbeaten as Aaron Elling, subbing for an injured Sebastian Janikowski, kicked three field goals with the last one bouncing off the left upright with 5:19 left to put the Raiders ahead.
But undrafted rookie safety Tony Joyner knocked the ball away from Oren O’Neal at the Titans 1 with 2:10 left, and rookie Stanford Keglar recovered for Tennessee (2-0). Ingle Martin, a Nashville native, was 6-for-8 on the drive and set up the winning field goal with a 26-yard pass to Chris Davis in the Titans’ best stretch of passing all game.
Titans coach Jeff Fisher said they tried to stay basic and see if they could simply beat the Raiders that way. He said the team’s troubled passing game wasn’t necessarily the quarterback’s fault and attributed some of the problems to inconsistency at receiver.
Elsewhere
TITANS: The agent for cornerback Cortland Finnegan said Friday the Tennessee Titans cornerback has agreed to a two-year contract extension. Agent Terry Watson said Finnegan the extension is part of a four-year deal worth $16.8 million. A spokesman for the team did not immediately return a call Friday. Finnegan replaced Adam “Pacman” Jones last season when Jones was suspended by the NFL for off-field misconduct. Last year, Finnegan had 109 tackles and an interception in his second season.
REDSKINS: The trial of four men accused of murdering Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor has been delayed until next year. A judge on Friday set a new trial date of March 3, 2009. It had been previously set for later this month, which would have been unusually fast for a murder case. Prosecutors say the suspects shot Taylor in November during a robbery attempt at his Miami-area home. Taylor, an All-Pro safety, was unexpectedly home because of a knee injury.
PATRIOTS: New England Patriots have signed nine-time Pro Bowl safety John Lynch. Lynch, a 15-year veteran, spent the first 11 years of his career with Tampa Bay and the last four years in Denver. His career totals include 1,277 tackles, 13 sacks and 26 interceptions. The team did not report terms of the agreement Friday, but the NFL Network reported Thursday that Lynch signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract.
COLTS: Peyton Manning, Bob Sanders and Dwight Freeney will miss their third straight preseason game for Indianapolis today. A dozen players, including six starters, will sit out the game against Atlanta, the Colts said Friday after completing their final practice in the morning at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
