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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- After a sluggish effort in Week 1 of the preseason, the Tennessee Titans looked more like the team they hoped to be during a 34-27 win over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday. The Titans weren't perfect by any means, but it sure beat their 7-3 loss to the lowly New York Jets the previous week.
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The defense, a week after not forcing any turnovers, had three takeaways against Carolina, each time setting the offense up deep in Panthers territory, and each time cashing in for a touchdown.
The Titans got two turnovers in the first quarter, a Kevin Byard fumble recovery at the 13-yard line that Logan Ryan forced, and later an interception by Justin Staples that rookie linebacker Jayon Brown tipped into the air for him to catch.
The Titans weren't perfect with backups in the game in the second half as they squandered all of a 24-7 lead, allowing the Panthers to tie the game at 27-all with 3:51 to play. But it was another turnover -- a sack and strip by linebacker Aaron Wallace that Jimmy Staten recovered at the 3-yard line -- that helped the Titans score the winning TD with just under two minutes to play.
One thing that was a little bit of a concern was that the running game didn't find much consistency with the first-team line in the game early on.
A promising drive to open the game sputtered at the 16-yard line, forcing Tennessee to settle for Ryan Succop's 34-yard field goal.
And on two of the touchdown drives, the Titans had to work a little more than one might think to reach the end zone. On one TD, they resorted to a pass near the goal line for the score -- a 4-yard fade to Delanie Walker after the run game stalled. It took Tennessee seven plays to go 13 yards.
Later, Derrick Henry walked into the end zone from a yard out on fourth-and-goal after a third-and-goal from the same spot was stuffed.
To be fair, though, the line blocked well on Henry's 17-yard touchdown run that came one play after Staples' pick.
Even though the run game didn't quite find a rhythm, coach Mike Mularkey was encouraged.
"That's a good defense, I'm sure you're clear on that. Very good defense," he said. "They have one more guy always up there than we have to block. Again, those are the kinds of games you're going to get 1 yard, 2 yard, 3 yard, bang; 1 yard, 2 yard, bang.
"That's the nature of the beast when they know you're going to try to run the football. But I like the way we stuck with it -- 37 rushes. If we run the ball 37 times, we're going to be winning another game. So, I was pretty pleased with it. I really liked how physical our guys were up front."
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Cornerback Adoree' Jackson pretty much locked up the Titans' punt return job -- if there ever really was a competition at all.
Jackson had an amazing 63-yard return for a touchdown against the Panthers on Saturday that was called back due to two penalties. Despite losing the touchdown, Jackson showed what he can do.
Now the question becomes how much more responsibility do the Titans want to put on the first-round pick's plate early on.
Jackson is getting a look on kickoff returns too, but he has not been as dynamic in two preseason games in that role as he has on punts. Jackson is also still in the running to be a starter at cornerback, though LeShaun Sims is holding serve pretty well through training camp and preseason. Jackson is also a possibility to unseat Brice McCain as the nickel back.
"He's got skills. The open-field tackle was good to see. Every play is going to be a good experience for him," Mularkey said. "We need to get more for him, but I like what he's doing. I like what he's doing in special teams as well. The punt return was big for us. He's coming along very well."
