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Tennessee Titans lose final preseason game 19-3 to Minnesota Vikings at LP Field Thursday night

Tennessee TitansNashville, TN – On Thursday, August 29th, the Minnesota Vikings (4-0-0) beat the Tennessee Titans (2-2-0) 19-3 on a rainy night at LP Field. Both teams kept their starters on the bench.

The Vikings took the opening drive 80 yards for a touchdown. Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, in his first NFL start, connected with wide receiver Adam Thielen for the 3 yard score.

Four field goals by kicker Blair Walsh put the Vikings up 19-0.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger (7) prepares to throw the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during the first half at LP Field. (Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports)
Tennessee Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger (7) prepares to throw the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during the first half at LP Field. (Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports)

The Titans got on the scoreboard midway through the 4th quarter. Quarterback Dominique Davis put together a drive that featured a heavy dose of running by Antonio Andrews that moved Tennessee down to the Minnesota 11 yard line. Kicker Maikon Bonani connected on a 29 yard field goal to make it 19-3.

For Tennessee, quarterback Zach Mettenberger completed 12 out of 17 pass attempts for 154 yards. “It was a great opportunity to get out there and get some reps. It’s unfortunate how the game kind of played out. I would’ve liked to string some more drives together, get some points on the board, stated Mettenberger. “Overall, we did some good things offensively. Just weren’t able to be consistent and keep the drive going.”

Running back Antonio Andrews had 79 yards on 13 attempts. Andrews also caught 3 balls for 19 yards. Bishop Sankey ran the ball 7 times for 43 yards and hauled in one pass for 3 yards.

Tennessee Titans running back Antonio Andrews (35) carries the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during the first half at LP Field. (Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports)
Tennessee Titans running back Antonio Andrews (35) carries the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during the first half at LP Field. (Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports)

“I think it was a good ending. Obviously, we wanted to execute more consistently and finish some of those drives that we started,” said Sankey. “Can’t complain with how it ended, just looking forward to going on to the regular season.”

Justin Hunter saw some action in the game. He had 2 receptions for 53 yards. One was a remarkable shoe string catch down the sideline.

“Yeah, they are throwing it my way, and my first thought is I’ve got to make that play for them. So whenever the ball is in my vicinity, I’ve got to go get it. The coach is depending on me, and the offense is depending on me, no matter what it is, a preseason or a regular season game, they are counting on me, so I have to go out there and do my job,” said Hunter.

Hunter continued, “My coach (wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson) said he wanted me to play and get a little more work, so I said yes and stepped up to the challenge.”

Quarterback Christian Ponder was 12 of 15 for 121 yards for Minnesota. Teddy Bridgewater connected 4 times on 9 attempts for 17 yards and a touchdown.

Vikings running back Joe Banyard ran for 111 yards on 19 rushes. Dominique Williams had 58 yards on 15 attempts. Wide receiver Allen Reisner had 4 receptions for 33 yards. Adam Thielen grabbed 3 balls for 30 yards and a touchdown.

“I feel more than the record in the preseason, I feel good about the way we’ve performed. We’ve taken care of the football, we’ve not made a lot of mistakes, we haven’t been a big penalty team. We seem to be doing the right things,” stated Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer.

“It’s always nice to win, especially when you start a new program. To me it’s how are we playing, what kind of football are we playing, and hopefully that will pay us off,” said Zimmer.

When asked how he felt Zach Mettenberger performed, Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt responded, “It was tough conditions early, you know. We let some guys get through that hit him, but I think he still made some good throws.”

“There is no question that he has improved over the course of the preseason, just in managing the huddle, managing the line of scrimmage. We are able to do a lot of different things with him,” stated Whisenhunt.

“I wish we would have a little more success on that that two-minute drive because he has done well with those. He hit Taylor (Thompson) for a nice play. Then we were moving the ball and then had the turnover, but I have been please with his development,” said Whisenhunt.

On Saturday, August 30th, NFL teams must determine who will make up the final 53 player roster.

“Yeah, we will meet tonight, we will meet in the morning. You know there are some we will be able to move on, maybe some we hold back depending on situations,” Whisenhunt stated. “Some of it will be, we got the evaluate this to be fair.”

The Tennessee Titans start the regular season Sunday, September 7th on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs. The game at Arrowhead Stadium starts at 12:00pm CDT.

Box Score

1 2 3 4 Final
Minnesota Vikings 7 9 3 0 19
Tennessee Titans 0 0 0 3 3

 

 

Minnesota Vikings
Passing CP/AT YDS TD INT
C. Ponder 12/15 121 0 0
T. Bridgewater 4/9 17 1 0
Rushing ATT YDS TD LG
J. Banyard 18 111 0 20
D. Williams 15 58 0 12
J. McKinnon 3 23 0 14
C. Ponder 3 8 0 9
T. Bridgewater 2 6 0 4
Receiving REC YDS TD LG
A. Reisner 4 33 0 14
A. Thielen 3 30 1 14
D. Foster 2 27 0 19
K. Colter 2 25 0 19
J. Wright 1 13 0 13
D. Williams 2 6 0 4
J. Banyard 1 2 0 2
J. McKinnon 1 2 0 2
Fumbles FUM LOST REC YDS
C. Ponder 1 0 1 0
A. Reisner 1 0 0 0
C. Wootton 0 0 1 0
Kicking FG LG XP PTS
B. Walsh 4/4 45 1/1 13
Punting NO AVG I20 LG
J. Locke 2 31.5 0 52
Punt Returns NO AVG TD LG
M. Sherels 1 -1 0 -1

 

 

Tennessee Titans
Passing CP/AT YDS TD INT
Z. Mettenberger 12/17 154 0 0
D. Davis 2/5 13 0 1
Rushing ATT YDS TD LG
A. Andrews 13 78 0 16
B. Sankey 7 43 0 13
D. Davis 2 4 0 4
Receiving REC YDS TD LG
J. Hunter 2 53 0 34
T. Thompson 2 26 0 19
A. Andrews 3 19 0 8
R. Richardson 1 19 0 19
D. Hagan 2 16 0 8
M. Mariani 1 13 0 13
M. Preston 1 9 0 9
B. Robiskie 1 9 0 9
B. Sankey 1 3 0 3
Fumbles FUM LOST REC YDS
D. Davis 1 0 1 0
Z. Mettenberger 1 1 0 0
D. Stafford 0 0 0 0
Kicking FG LG XP PTS
M. Bonani 1/2 29 0/0 3
Punting NO AVG I20 LG
B. Kern 2 31.5 1 44
Kickoff Returns NO AVG TD LG
M. Mariani 2 24 0 28
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