Darius Reynaud, the fourth running back on the roster, scored a pair of touchdowns 2:42 apart in the second half Saturday but the Tennessee Titans lost their preseason opener 27-17 to the Seattle Seahawks at Seattle.
Reynaud scored on a 21-yard touchdown run 6:47 into the third quarter and then returned a punt 85 yards as the Titans overcame a 14-point deficit.
From there, it remained 17-17 until Seattle kicked a 40-yard field goal with 11:40 to play. Rookie quarterback Russell Wilson capped the scoring on a 32-yard touchdown run with a 1:51 to play.
It was most points allowed by Tennessee in its first preseason game since a 37-28 loss to New Orleans at San Antonio in 1993, and the most in any preseason contest since a 30-10 loss at Dallas in 2009.
Reynaud signed with the Titans as a free agent in January. Previously, he spent two seasons as a running back, wide receiver and return man with the Minnesota Vikings and one with the New York Giants. The Giants cut him after training camp last season and he remained unsigned for the remainder of 2011.
His performance, which included a team-high 29 rushing yards, got the Titans going after a first half that started a poorly as possible and never got much better.
Matt Hasselbeck’s first pass bounced twice off the hands of intended receiver Nate Washington and once off a defender before cornerback Brandon Browner intercepted it and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown. With that, Tennessee trailed 7-0 nine seconds after the opening kickoff.
The first time the Titans’ defense took the field it stayed out there for 15 plays and allowed the Seahawks to drive 62 yards for a field goal.
Hasselbeck ultimately played the first three series, which yielded no points. He finished 5-for-9 for 45 yards with two interceptions.
Jake Locker played the rest of the first half, which ended with the Titans behind 17-3. He went 7-for-13 for 80 yards.
Among other starters, Washington had three catches for 24 yards, running back Chris Johnson carried five times for eight yards (he had one nine-yard gain) and dropped two passes and middle linebacker Colin McCarthy intercepted a pass.