ATLANTA — Kendell Brooks scored on a 53-yard interception return and rookie quarterback Cameron Ward had mixed results as the Tennessee Titans beat the Atlanta Falcons 23-20 in a preseason game Friday night.Joey Slye’s 23-yard field goal with 9:03 remaining gave Tennessee (1-1) the lead. Falcons backup quarterback Emory Jones was stopped on a fourth-down run near the Tennessee 20 with 2:57 remaining. Jones was shaken up on the hit by linebacker Amari Burney and cornerback Jemari Harris. Jones walked off the field with assistance.Ward played three series and completed 2 of 7 passes for 42 yards. Ward’s highlight was a 35-yard completion to Elic Ayomanor on the Titans’ opening series. Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, had another long pass dropped by Van Jefferson.“I’m very encouraged,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said about Ward’s performance. “That ball that was dropped was an incredible throw. … He’s shown all the things we need to see from an operations standpoint.” Callahan hinted during the week Ward would play two series but said he added the third series because the play count was still low.Ward said the extra snaps were “real good for me … game-time reps instead of practice.”The teams traded third-quarter touchdowns. Jemar Jefferson’s 16-yard scoring run, which capped a 13-play drive, gave the Titans a 20-13 lead. Easton Stick, who played the first three quarters for Atlanta, thre …
