Titans Run Wild, Rush Past Vikings 24-16 For First Preseason Win of the Year

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Julius Chestnut was trying to answer questions with a straight face, but it wasn't easy.

He had just rushed for 98 yards in the Tennessee Titans' 24-16 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday night, and talking about it was tough because Derrick Henry, his mentor, kept making him laugh from two stalls down. Henry, who didn't play at all, was enjoying watching Chestnut and rookie Tyjae Spears get all the attention in a jubilant postgame locker room.

The Titans rushed for a whopping 281 yards in picking up their first win of the preseason. Chestnut had a 55-yard run in the second half and Spears, the Titans' third-round pick this year, scored on a must-see 33-yard touchdown run in the first half.

Throw in quarterback Malik Willis, who made good decisions with his legs all night long, and it was a good night on the ground. Willis, who rushed for 91 yards on 11 carries himself, was thrilled with all the success.

"We won, so that's a plus,'' said Willis, who played the entire game with Ryan Tannehill and rookie Will Levis not available. "Early in the first half, we had a few details to clean up, but in the second half we came out violent and physical and we scored some points, so that was good.

"It helps both not only myself but the whole offense when I can get first downs and keep moving the sticks. I was trying to stay in the pocket and give people opportunities, but like (coach Mike Vrabel) tells me, sometimes it better for me to take off than check it down. That's just on me finding a balance with that.''

The Titans' first score was a beauty. On their third possession after two straight three-and-outs, Spears got several big blocks to open a hole on the right side, then he hurdled a Vikings defender and dashed to the end zone on a 33-yard score to make it 7-0.

"Shout out to the O-Line, they opened it up for me to get there,'' said Spears, who had 57 yards on seven carries. "(The hurdle), it wasn't planned, just a natural thing. We weren't on the same page those first two drives, but then we started to get in synch with each other.

"You've got to give thanks to the big boys (when you rush for 281 yards). It's just building confidence every day. And you're happy for them when we do it, because we're getting all the credit, but we can't do it without them. We've been working hard to get to this point, and to do these kind of things.''

The Titans couldn't finish off drives in the second quarter, and the Vikings scored three straight times, but all on field goals, taking a 9-7 lead to the break.

Chestnut got the Titans rolling in the third quarter though, breaking free on that 55-yard run.

"It just shows how much work that offensive line puts in. I had a big hole there, and Reggie Roberson came in from wide receiver and made a key block on that play, too,'' Chestnut said.

"We started it with Tyjae and the momentum just kept rolling. We felt like we could do some things, and we did.''

Chestnut was tackled at the 4-yard line, and the Titans couldn't convert the run into seven, settling for a 22-yard Trey Wolff field goal to go back ahead 10-9.

But the Titans were just getting rolling. They scored two quick touchdowns on long drives to pull away. Chestnut scored from 5 yards out late in the third to make it 17-9 and then he caught a 1-yard pass from Willis in the left flat to cap a nine-play, 53-yard drive.

The productive work meant a lot, capping off a successful week in the north lands. The Titans practiced against the Vikings on Wednesday and Thursday and running the ball was ''tough sledding,'' in Vrabel's words.

So it was nice to see all that success Saturday. They got their 281 yards on 40 carries, a 7.0 average. They dominated up front after those first two possessions, and that's a very good sign going forward considering the offensive line issues the Titans have had recently.

"I thought we were physical, and I thought we were able to run the football,'' Vrabel said. "I loved the way we came out and responded in the second half after we weren't very good in the first half. We did some good things, and we controlled the football game (with the run). It was great to see those guys take advantage of their opportunities.

"I was happy with the physicality after we got going. It took us a little while to get going, but then things really started to click. It builds some confidence. We'll take a look at the game tape and make some corrections.''

The passing game was a little shaky. Willis was just 10-for-17 passing for 85 yards, and he had one bad interception when he got fooled on a drop by Tennessee linebacker Troy Dye. But he also had a few drops that didn't help. Still, it was a good experience for him, getting four quarters of work.

The Titans return home after the game, and next week they'll spend four days with the New England Patriots. They will have joint practices in Nashville on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then play the final preseason game at Nissan Stadium on Friday night.

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