~ Josh Brown's kick as time expired lifted St. Louis to a 17-16 win vs. Tennessee

ST. LOUIS -- After getting burned for an 83-yard touchdown pass on the first play, the Tennessee Titans' defense stood fast. The offense thrived without holdout Chris Johnson.

St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson was limited to 10 yards on six carries in his preseason debut and Sam Bradford had no other big plays in the first half and got banged around a bit, needing the backups to rally for a 17-16 victory over the Titans on Saturday night.

The Rams (2-0) scored 33 points in the preseason opener against the Colts but, after getting Tennessee (1-1) to bite on play action on Bradford's 83-yarder to a wide-open Brandon Gibson for a quick 7-0 lead, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had no follow-up with the first stringers.

Josh Brown kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired to give the Rams the victory.

St. Louis opened with three tight ends and Jackson the lone back on a play that easily topped the Rams' longest play last season, a 49-yard reception by Jackson. St. Louis totaled just 70 yards on 27 plays the rest of the half.

Rookie Jamie Harpe had 83 yards on 11 carries in the half. The highlight was a 46-yarder, and he scored for the second straight week.

Tennessee starter Matt Hasselbeck was sharp, going 7 for 9 for 74 yards.

Jackson missed most of two practices with hip soreness this week but said it was just a precaution. He had trouble finding holes behind a line that had seldom-used Hank Fraley at guard in place of guard Jacob Bell. Donnie Jones punted eight times, four in each half.

The Rams' Donnie Avery (knee) played for the first time since last preseason and caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Feeley in the third quarter that cut the gap to 16-14.

Jake Locker threw a 29-yard completion to Jared Cook to the 5 on his first snap to set up Rob Bironas' third field goal of the half.

Alterraun Verner's interception on Bradford's throw in traffic intended for Mike Sims-Walker set up Harper's touchdown run that put the Titans up 10-7 in the first quarter.

Bradford was hit hard on consecutive plays in the second quarter, getting blind-sided by blitzing cornerback Cortland Finnegan and then going down after William Hayes grabbed him by the ankles.