The Atlanta Falcons showed off their big-play capability. Tennessee won the battle of the backups.
Rookie DeAndra Cobb scored on a 101-yard kickoff return and T.J. Duckett had a 72-yard touchdown run, but Shane Boyd threw a late touchdown pass to fellow rookie O.J. Small that gave the Titans a 24-21 victory Friday night.
Michael Vick played nearly the entire first half for the Falcons, looking especially good on the opening possession. He hooked up with fullback Justin Griffith on a 23-yard pass, then broke off a 21-yard run when no one was open. After Warrick Dunn ran for 18 yards, Vick lobbed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brian Finneran.
With third- and fourth-stringers on the field, the Falcons (2-1) made one goal-line stand in the final period but couldn't stop the Titans on fourth-and-goal from the 4.
Boyd, hoping to land a spot as the Titans' third quarterback, flipped a pass to Small, who fought off rookie cornerback Jonte Buhl to make the catch with 1:28 remaining.
Cobb, a sixth-round pick from Michigan State, took a major step toward making the Falcons with his electrifying return in the first quarter. He took the kickoff, sent three players flying with a cutback at the Falcons 30 and found a huge gap on the left side.
Steve McNair was sharp for the Titans (1-1), though he was facing a Falcons defense that was missing five injured starters. The Tennessee quarterback completed 14-of-19 passes for 137 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown to Chris Brown.
Brown, who sat out the Titans' first preseason game, also rushed for 45 yards on 10 carries.
Bengals 24, Redskins 17
The good news for Carson Palmer and Patrick Ramsey is that they have three more weeks to get ready for the regular season. From the look of things, both need all the time they can get.
Ramsey threw two interceptions in Landover, Maryland. Palmer threw one, and they combined to complete just four of their first 16 passes in the Cincinnati Bengals' 24-17 victory over the Washington Redskins.
Palmer started 2-for-9 with an interception against the first-string Redskins defense before putting together two scoring drives against Washington's backups. He hit Kelley Washington on the run for a 45-yard touchdown pass against rookie first-round draft pick Carlos Rogers, one play after T.J. Houshmandzadeh had Rogers beat on a similar play but dropped the ball.
Palmer ended his night with a shovel pass to Chris Perry, who ran 13 yards for a touchdown to help give the Bengals a 14-10 lead at halftime.
Palmer finished 12-for-24 for 152 yards and gave way in the second half to Jon Kitna, who hit Kevin Walter for a 22-yard touchdown in the third quarter. In two exhibition games, Palmer is 16-for-35 for 189 yards and two interceptions.
Ramsey's first three drives went nowhere, but Rogers' interception and 30-yard return gave Washington the ball at Cincinnati's 25. On the next play, Ramsey found James Thrash over the middle in the back of the end zone for the score.
Ramsey finished 9-for-18 for 190 yards and was replaced by Mark Brunell after halftime. Ramsey is 17-for-30 for 267 yards and three interceptions over two games.
Jets 28, Vikings 21
So his first few passes didn't zing. So he dumped one off here and threw another short one there.
Once he got warmed up, Jets quarterback Chad Pennington made everything look easy in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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