KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Chiefs' Alex Smith knows exactly how much weight Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota feels as the first-round pick tries to turn around the fortunes of Tennessee.
He was in a similar position in San Francisco a decade ago.
"For me, it was battling the anxiety of being the top pick and justifying that, and that's what I fought for so long, and it took me a while," Smith said shortly after leading Kansas City to a weather-shortened 34-10 victory over the Titans on Friday night.
"In some ways," he said, "you have to play yourself out of that, and I think I did."
Enough to solidify the starting job with the Chiefs, where Smith has flourished in Coach Andy Reid's West Coast offense. He was 16 of 18 for 171 yards and two touchdowns in less than a half against Tennessee, almost certainly his final tuneup before the regular season.
Meanwhile, Mariota misfired on his first three throws before completing seven of his last eight attempts. He threw for 99 yards while playing the entire first half.
"Kansas City has a very good defense, and for us to be able to score points against them, it says a lot about where we have come from," Mariota said. "A lot of it we can still improve."
The game was called with 3 minutes, 50 seconds remaining after thunder rumbled and lightning streaked across the sky. Heavy rains had turned one end zone into a lake.
By that point, starters and backups had mostly finished their dress rehearsals.
Aaron Murray took over late in the first half and wound up throwing for 146 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, while backup Chase Daniel got the night off for KC.
Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, who played 10 snaps total the first two preseason games, carried three times for 26 yards and caught two passes for 15 yards. Jeremy Maclin hauled in seven catches for 65 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown grab that made it 7-0.
Travis Kelce also caught a touchdown pass for Kansas City, while All-Pro linebacker Justin Houston had his first sack of the preseason when he tracked down Mariota before halftime.
"We have everything we need to do the things we want to achieve this year," Maclin said. "It all starts with the guy under center and we have all the faith in the world in him."
The Titans, still trying to settle on an offensive line, struggled to move the ball on the ground. Bishop Sankey ran six times for just 17 yards, while former Chiefs wide receiver Dexter McCluster at least managed to move the chains when he got a handful of carries.
Zach Mettenberger, who had played so well for Tennessee that some have wondered whether he'll be traded, took over to start the second half. He was 3 of 11 for 38 yards.
Antonio Andrews had a short touchdown run late in the first half for the Titans.
"Obviously we didn't start the way we wanted to. A lot of it was because of mistakes we made," Titans Coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "There were too many penalties, we fumbled the ball one time, we jumped offsides and we missed tackles. Those are the things you can't do."
PATRIOTS 17, PANTHERS 16
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tom Brady overcame two early interceptions to lead his first touchdown drive of the preseason as New England beat Carolina.
The preseason has been a titanic struggle for Brady, who is awaiting word on his appeal of a four-game suspension for his role in "Deflategate."
After managing just three first downs in his first 11 preseason possessions, Brady finally got on track, leading an 80-yard scoring drive before halftime running the hurry-up offense. He capped the drive with a well-placed 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Scott Chandler.
The Patriots played again without tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receivers Brandon LaFell and Julian Edelman.
Carolina managed just two field goals in the first half behind Cam Newton and trailed 7-6 at halftime. Corey Brown bobbled away an easy TD pass from Newton -- one of four Carolina drops in the first half.
New England's first six possessions included four three-and-outs and two Brady interceptions, although one came when Panthers cornerback Charles Tillman wrestled the ball away from Aaron Dobson on the ground.
LIONS 22, JAGUARS 17
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Matthew Stafford completed 11 of 15 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns, helping Detroit beat Jacksonville in a preseason game.
The Lions (2-1) trailed most of the night, but rookie Zach Zenner's 3-yard touchdown run with 1:41 remaining was the winner.
Detroit played without star receiver Calvin Johnson for the third consecutive game, but Stafford carved up Jacksonville's secondary in a half of work. Stafford threw a perfect deep ball to Golden Tate for a 62-yarder in the second quarter and then hooked up with Corey Fuller for a 4-yard score.
Zenner had a 41-yard scamper that set up Fuller's score. He finished with 85 yards on eight carries.
Blake Bortles was the story again for Jacksonville (1-2). He completed 20 of 29 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 38 yards, including two third-down scrambles that kept scoring drives alive.
The second-year pro continued his strong preseason, looking every bit like the franchise quarterback the Jaguars have spent more than a decade searching for. Bortles has completed 39 of 60 passes for 461 yards, with a touchdown and no interceptions, in the preseason. He also ran for a score in the exhibition opener.
Sports on 08/29/2015