Dolphins' offense barely fazes Titans
Jay Fiedler and A.J. Feeley struggled in Miami's 17-7 loss.
MIAMI (AP) -- An approaching hurricane failed to faze the Tennessee Titans, and the Miami Dolphins' offense didn't give them much trouble, either.
Tennessee made three interceptions Saturday, including one in their own end zone and another returned 37 yards for a touchdown by Lamont Thompson, and beat Miami 17-7.
To avoid bad weather associated with Hurricane Ivan, kickoff was moved up 24 hours, which scrambled the Titans' itinerary. But they improved to 43-30 on the road under coach Jeff Fisher.
"We knew early in the week that the game could be changed, so we were ready," cornerback Andre Dyson said. "You have to be ready for anything, and we were."
Both Jay Fiedler and A.J. Feeley struggled to move the Dolphins. Fiedler threw two interceptions, drew boos and was replaced at halftime with Miami trailing 7-0. Feeley, under pressure from a blitzing Keith Bulluck, was intercepted by Thompson for Tennessee's second touchdown.
"He threw it right to me," Thompson said. "That worked out easy for me, because all I had to do was catch it and run with it."
Few highlights
The Dolphins, who tied a franchise record with 14 penalties, averted a shutout when Feeley threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Randy McMichael with 3:22 remaining.
Chris Brown, making his first start as Eddie George's replacement, set up a touchdown with a 52-yard run, the Titans' longest since 1998. Brown gained 100 yards in 16 carries but sat out the second half with a sprained left ankle.
Steve McNair threw only 14 passes -- one for a score -- and the Titans outrushed the Dolphins 182 yards to 65.
"When you've got a great running back in Chris, and when you have a passing attack like we've got, what do you defend?" said McNair.
The Dolphins had no answer -- and relatively few fans. Miami announced 69,987 tickets sold, but the schedule switch limited the actual crowd to half that. By the fourth quarter many had departed.
Rough start
It wasn't the start sought by the Dolphins, who hoped to bounce back from a tumultuous summer that included the loss of three top players -- Ricky Williams to retirement, David Boston to injury and Adewale Ogunleye in a trade following a contract dispute.
Miami's best drive in the first half reached the 20, but Samari Rolle intercepted Fiedler in the end zone.
"We just knew that if we challenged their receivers and suffocated the running game, we didn't think any of those quarterbacks could get anything," Rolle said.
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