Rookie quarterback Tim Tebow made a scoring debut for the Denver Broncos against Cincinnati.
Tebow mania kicks off as Florida man scores on Broncos debut
Rookie quarterback Tim Tebow made a scoring debut for the Denver Broncos, as he showed his unique skills with a bruising touchdown run at the end of his team's pre-season defeat against Cincinnati.
The former Florida man played the second half of Denver's 33-24 defeat in Cincinnati, and he showed exactly why he was one of the best college players ever and the most talked about man in April's draft.
Tebow ran in from seven yards on the final play of the game - powering over safety Kyries Hebert just like he had run over players in college using his speed, size and strength rarely found in a quarterback.
Overall he threw for 105 yards on eight completions, but they were mainly short throws against a second-string defence, but although he showed little of his throwing ability his running power showed what a different option Denver have as quarterback.
"It was one of those things where you knew he (Tebow) was going to score on the last play of the game, either run it in or throw it in there," said Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer.
Competitor
"He's such a competitor. I've been a big fan of his ever since he started at Florida. He's one of the greatest college football players."
Kyle Orton is undoubtedly the starter for Josh McDaniels, and he was far more orthodox but no less impressive as he threw two TD passes in just three series to start his pre-season looking strong.
Palmer threw a touchdown pass of his own for the Bengals, while Terrell Owens improved on his poor debut by catching four passes, but did make a couple of errors as he continues to shake off any rust.
"It wasn't perfect, but it was better than last week and that's what we're looking to do - improve every week," Palmer said.
A big worry for Cincinnati was starting centre Kyle Cook, who had his left ankle wrapped in ice on the sidelines after coming out in the first quarter with the injury.
Niners top Colts
In Indianapolis, the Super Bowl runners-up got their pre-season campaign started with a 37-17 defeat against San Francisco as the Colts' reserves failed to show any signs of real strength in depth on the team.
Peyton Manning was his usual self as he led the Colts to a touchdown and a field goal on his first two possessions despite being without six of his fellow starters.
After the first team was withdrawn after 16 plays though, the Colts could not keep up as the Niners scored 34 unanswered points to take the pre-season victory.
Reggie Smith's 91-yard interception returned for a touchdown was the highlight, while Michael Robinson scored a three-yard run as he bids to become Frank Gore's back-up for the season at running back.
49ers back-up David Carr struggled when he replaced Alex Smith, but Colts counterpart Curtis Painter fared even worse as he was picked off three times in all and fluffed a hand-off.
"I think he didn't play as well as he'd like to, but he needed some help, too," Colts coach Jim Caldwell said. "The things that are hidden, dropped passes, the things you need to extend drives, you need guys to do their jobs, and we certainly didn't play as well as we wanted."
