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Brown, Titans run over Jaguars

Sep 9, 2007 - 9:51 PM JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- The Tennessee Titans stole a page from the Jacksonville Jaguars' playbook for a surprising season-opening win.

Chris Brown rushed for a career-high 175 yards on 19 carries and the Titans shut down the Jaguars' vaunted running game to post a 13-10 upset victory in Sunday's season opener.

Quarterback Vince Young managed just 78 yards on 11-of-18 passing but rushed for the go-ahead score in the waning moments of the third quarter and Rob Bironas kicked two field goals for Tennessee (1-0).

"Our plan for the last couple of weeks was to establish the run because the run game was going to be the difference in our offense," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said.

Brown, listed as the second-string running back behind LenDale White, continually gouged Jacksonville's defense for huge gains. The Jaguars (0-1) ranked second in the league in total yards allowed at 296.1 in 2006.

"We allowed them to get some momentum and have the clock," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "We allowed some of that of our own undoing early and then late they just pounded us. They had us on the field a lot and just ran it right at us."

Tennessee held the ball for 36 minutes, 55 seconds in wearing down the Jaguars' defense in the stifling 86-degree heat and stopping Jacksonville's season-opening win streak at three games.

White added 66 yards on 18 carries as Tennessee amassed 282 yards on the ground.

"We have two fine backs. Both of them contribute," Fisher said. "It was good to see Chris cut back and hit the hole quick and protect the ball. They provided us a nice one-two punch."

Meanwhile, Jacksonville's backfield tandem of Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor, who combined to average over five yards per carry last season, were bottled up by the Titans' defense.

Jones-Drew managed just 32 yards on seven carries while Taylor had 16 yards on six carries. At halftime, the Titans held an overwhelming 147-6 edge in rushing yardage yet trailed, 10-6.

"We ran it for 18 (carries), they ran it 49. There is usually a problem when you play a game like that," Del Rio said. "Anytime you open at home, you want to get off on right foot, get a good start in the division.

"They did a nice job, they executed their plan very well and came out of here with a win."

Frustrated in the first half despite a 2-to-1 margin in time of possession, the Titans embarked on a 12-play, 79-yard drive on their first possession of the third quarter.

Brown rushed for 35 yards and five carries on the drive, which Young capped off with a 2-yard keeper for a 13-10 lead with 1:03 left in the third quarter.

"We have two fine backs. Both of them contribute. It was good to see Chris cut back and hit the whole quick and protect the ball. They provided us a nice one-two punch." said Fisher.

Tennessee drove 77 yards on 13 plays on its second possession of the game, but stalled at the 3-yard line and had to settle for Bironas' 20-yard field goal.

Jacksonville struck back quickly, needing just two plays to go ahead followed Jones-Drew's 40-kick return on the ensuing kickoff. Garrard connected with rookie wide receiver John Broussard on a 47-yard scoring pass with 3:24 left in the opening quarter.

Garrard, anointed the starter over Byron Leftwich, who was released, finished 17-of-30 for 204 yards and a touchdown.

"I wanted to come out and perform at a high but controlled level," Garrard said. "I felt comfortable and relaxed, and feel like we have things going in the right direction and will continue to move forward."

The Titans came right back with an 11-play, 79-yard drive behind the hard running of Brown, who had 87 yards on seven yards in the first half.

Again the drive stalled and this time Tennessee came up empty when White was stuffed for no gain on 4th-and-goal from the 1.

An interception by Rashean Mathis led to John Scobee's 22-yard field goal and a 10-3 lead for the Jaguars, but the Titans answered with Bironas' 31-yard kick with 3:36 left in the half to cut it to 10-6.

Scobee suffered a strained quadriceps during pregame warm-ups, forcing the Jaguars to eschew what would have been a 36-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter.

"Obviously, losing your guy that can kick the ball out of the end zone, to end up losing by three is a dramatic swing to not have that available to you as a football team," Del Rio said.