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Locker, Titans top Cardinals

Aug 24, 2012 - 4:28 AM Nashville, TN (Sports Network) - Jake Locker completed 11-of-20 passes and threw two touchdowns on Thursday and the Tennessee Titans defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 32-27, in preseason action.

Locker, who was named the Titans' starter earlier in the week, threw for 134 yards without an interception in the victory.

Arizona's John Skelton was intercepted by Michael Griffin on the Cardinals' second play of the game and Locker capitalized with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kendall Wright.

In the second quarter, Locker, who was the No. 8 overall pick in 2011, tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Nate Washington, then executed a 41-yard drive to set up Rob Bironas' 39-yard field goal.

Chris Johnson rushed for 27 yards on 13 carries for Tennessee while Colin McCarthy returned his second interception of the game 31 yards for a touchdown.

Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt has yet to named a starting quarterback for Week 1. Skelton and Kevin Kolb continue to battle for the position and the former got the start on Thursday.

Skelton played a little over a quarter, completed 4-of-10 passes for 41 yards and engineered a shot, 17-yard drive which led to Jay Feely's 49-yard field goal.

Kolb entered early in the second quarter and performed inconsistently. He was intercepted by McCarthy on his second series but responded by completing 5- of-5 passes during an 86-yard drive which ended with a three-yard touchdown pass to Andre Roberts with four seconds left in the opening half.

In the third quarter, Kolb was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage by McCarthy, who carried the pick into the end zone for a 23-10 lead.

On Arizona's next series, Kolb connected on 8-of-9 passes, setting up 47-yard field goal by Feely.

With third-stringer Ryan Lindley under center, the Cardinals took a 27-23 lead in the fourth quarter behind rushing touchdowns by William Powell and Javarris James -- of five and 11 yards, respectively.

Tennessee responded with a 45-yard field goal by Will Batson after an Arizona special teams turnover, then went ahead, 32-27, on Jamie Harper's 16-yard touchdown run.

The Titans were dealt a blow in the first quarter when Marc Mariani suffered a broken left leg during a punt return. Mariani, who made the Pro Bowl as a return specialist during his rookie season in 2010, was injured while being tackled and was eventually carted off the field.

Larry Fitzgerald had five catches for 91 yards in the loss.