The Sports Xchange

Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota got off to a rocky start in his first NFL competition, but he recovered to finish with decent numbers in the Titans’ 31-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in a preseason game on Friday in Atlanta.

Mariota, the second overall pick in this year’s draft, had not thrown a single interception during training camp in 186 attempts. However, his third pass of the preseason was intercepted by Falcons linebacker Justin Durant.

On the Titans’ second possession, Mariota fumbled, and Falcons linebacker picked it up and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown that made it 17-0.

Mariota did lead his team to a touchdown later in the first half and finished 7-for-8 for 94 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.

The score was tied before Atlanta’s Michael Ford scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan was 6-for-6 for 86 yards and a touchdown.

Panthers 25, Bills 24

Quarterback Joe Webb threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Wegher with 54 seconds left in the game, and Carolina then added a two-point conversion to get the victory in Buffalo.

Bills starting quarterback Matt Cassel finished 7-for-8 for 45 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions and a 90.1 passer rating, while backup EJ Manuel was 4-for-8 for 77 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown pass, no interceptions and a 123.4 rating.

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was 5-for-10 for 83 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

Bengals 23, Giants 10

Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton attempted just three passes, but he completed all three, including one for a touchdown in the Bengals’ preseason win in Cincinnati.

The Bengals’ starting offense was on the field for less than three minutes before taking the rest of the night off after one series.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning was just 4-for-8 for 22 yards and no scores.

Jaguars 23, Steelers 21

Stephen Morris’ 1-yard run with 1:58 left provided the winning touchdown for the Jaguars in the preseason game in Jacksonville, Fla.

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played just one series, but completed all three of his passes, including a 44-yard touchdown pass to Martavis Bryant.

Jacksonville quarterback Brian Bortles got considerably more playing time, completing 11 of 15 passes for 118 yards and no scores.

Steelers backup quarterback Landry Jones was 24-for-46 for 200 yards and a score.