SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) 鈥� struggled in three drives for Tennessee against San Francisco’s backup defense and went on to beat 19-13 in the exhibition opener for both teams Thursday night.
Tony Pollard ran for a touchdown and Joey Slye kicked four field goals for the Titans, with three coming from at least 50 yards out.
First-year Tennessee coach Robert Saleh played most of his starters in his debut game, while 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan opted to hold out his top-line players after most of them got work during a joint practice on Tuesday.
The Titans drove 95 yards on their opening possession with Ward completing two passes and Tennessee doing most of the work on the ground by controlling the line of scrimmage. Pollard capped it with a 5-yard TD run.
Ward, the No. 1 overall pick last season, then went 3 for 8 for 23 yards on the next two possessions as the Titans netted just 15 yards total on those drives.
鈥淚t it looked like his mechanics were a little bit more sped up than it has been,” Saleh said. “Which is good because we can go correct it, which is what the preseason鈥檚 for. But I鈥檓 sure they鈥檒l look back at it and see that the protection was pretty good, and he could have moved through the process a little bit.鈥�
Ward was unable to connect with No. 4 overall pick Carnell Tate, who was targeted three times. All fell incomplete, including a pass near the goal line that was broken up by San Francisco rookie Ephesians Prysock.
鈥淕ot to continue to clean up things in the pass game, with myself and my receivers seeing eye to eye,鈥� Ward said. “I got to continue to give them better chances, making plays. I think once we get that we鈥檒l be really good.鈥�
Kurtis Rourke, a seventh-round pick in Ward’s draft in 2025, looked much sharper in his professional debut after missing all of last season recovering from knee surgery. He went 12 for 14 for 101 yards with three rushes for 14 yards on three drives. His final possession ended in a 1-yard TD run by Patrick Taylor Jr., and he left the game after that with a rib injury. X-rays were negative but Rourke had trouble breathing and was taken to the hospital.
Rourke had a good rhythm with Niners rookie receiver De’Zhaun Stribling. The first pick of the second round caught seven passes for 63 yards on his three drives, including two impressive catches on the TD drive. He caught a 32-yard deep pass on the sideline and then had an 11-yard catch with a broken tackle to convert a third-and-6.
鈥淚t was it was fun being out there against them,鈥� Stribling said. “Just trying to keep building, building and building. Taking all the coaching points that I can take and just trying to get better.”
in his usual spot on the sideline for the 49ers in his first game since a car crash last month that left him with a concussion that has limited him in training camp. Offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak called plays in the game like he did last year in the preseason.
鈥�(It felt) the same as it has in practice,” Shanahan said. 鈥淓veryone knows I missed some things and I haven鈥檛 been calling plays as much but I don鈥檛 really do that in the preseason anyway so it felt pretty normal.鈥�
Punting competition
Corliss Waitman showed why he won the San Francisco punter battle over Jack Bouwmeester, who was cut earlier this week. Waitman’s first two punts were downed inside the 10-yard line. He averaged 43.5 yards on his four punts with no returns.
Injuries
Titans: DE Jaylen Harrell (knee) and TE Jaren Kanak (pectoral) left the game.
49ers: CB Jack Jones left the game on the opening drive with a right hand injury. …CB Nate Hobbs didn’t play after hurting his groin this week and will miss a few weeks. … LB Nick Martin (stinger) and S Marques Sigle (oblique) also left the game.
Up next
Titans: Host Seattle on Aug. 23.
49ers: At the Los Angeles Chargers next Thursday.
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