Tebow gets warm welcome in Philly
He scores TD in first game since 2013 preseason
Tim Tebow got a warm Philly welcome.
Tebow threw for 69 yards and ran for a touchdown in his first game in two years, Kenjon Barner returned a punt 92 yards for a touchdown and ran for a score, and the host Philadelphia Eagles beat the Indianapolis Colts 3610 Sunday.
Tebow got a standing ovation when he entered midway through the third quarter, and the crowd roared so loudly when his name was introduced that he had to quiet it down because he was taking a shotgun snap.
He dived into the pylon on a 7-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter and finished with 15 yards rushing on four carries. He completed 6 of 12 passes and was sacked three times.
Tebow hadn’t played since the 2013 preseason with New England until the Eagles signed him to compete with Matt Barkley for the No. 3 spot behind Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez. Barkley was 12 of 20 for 192 yards and one interception.
Rookie first-round pick Nelson Agholor caught a 34-yard TD pass from Sanchez. Bradford and All-Pro running back DeMarco Murray didn’t play.
Playing their first game since losing to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game that began the Deflategate saga, the Colts didn’t seem as if they prepared much for Philadelphia’s up-tempo offense and also were missing several defensive starters.
Quarterback Andrew Luck completed 5 of 6 for 43 yards and left during the second series.
Jets: Quarterback Geno Smith was photographed by the New York Post playing catch with a friend outside his New Jersey apartment Saturday, two days after he had jaw surgery. Smith had plates and screws inserted into the jaw, which was broken by a punch from then-teammate Ikemefuna Enemkpali on Tuesday.
The newspaper published a front-page image of Smith, his face swollen with black bandages on each cheek.
“He shouldn’t be doing it right now,” coach Todd Bowles said Sunday. “We handled that internally. We had that discussion.”
Washington: Aftercoach Jay Gruden’s public criticism of Robert Griffin III last season, it sure sounds as if there is a concerted effort to say mostly nice things about the quarterback nowadays. And that includes general manager ScotMcCloughan.
Asked about Griffin’s performance against the Cleveland Browns in Washington’s first exhibition game, McCloughan said: “Liked it a lot. Liked it a lot. I see improvement. Liked it a lot. I see confidence. I see ball out on time. I see a good football player.”
Griffin played only in the first quarter Thursday night at Cleveland, going 4 for 8 for 36 yards, plus one run for 3 yards. A potential long completion was dropped by receiver Pierre Garcon.
When Gruden was asked about Griffin’s play against the Browns, he said: “I just think his comfort in the pocket looked a little bit better. … We still have a long way to go to grade him, but we’re happy with his progress.”
Bills: Coach Rex Ryan says defensive tackle JariusWynn could be lost for the season after a serious ACL injury. Ryan called the injury “devastating” to the Bills andWynn, who was injured in Friday’s preseason opener against Carolina.