Tebow debuts, scores late TD

Fans booed. Flashes went off. Tim Tebow had arrived in the NFL.

The rookie quarterback from Florida made his first preseason appearance Sunday night, and got into the end zone on the final play of the Denver Broncos’ 33-24 loss to the Bengals in Cincinnati.

Tebow went 8 of 13 for 105 yards in the second half, with most of the completions and yards coming on dump-offs during the closing drive against a soft defense. On the game’s final play, Tebow scrambled 7 yards for a touchdown, running over safety Kyries Hebert to score – a power move he used so many times in college.

“It was one of those things where you knew he was going to score on the last play of the game, either run it in or throw it in there,” Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer said. “He’s one of the greatest college football players.”

In Ohio, they haven’t forgotten. Tebow jogged onto the field late in the third quarter to loud boos – those Ohio State and University of Cincinnati fans remember how he demolished their teams in bowl games.

“Yeah, I heard it,” he said, chuckling. “It got me more excited to go out there and play.”

Denver’s Kyle Orton was impressive in his preseason debut, throwing two touchdown passes in three series.

Cincinnati wanted to see more out of its starting offense, which went nowhere during a 16-7 loss to Dallas a week earlier. The second time around, it was much better. Palmer went 12 of 15 for 105 yards in three series, leading the Bengals to one touchdown.

49ers 37, Colts 17: David Carr threw one TD pass, and San Francisco scored 34 straight points to pull away for a victory in Indianapolis. Six Colts starters did not play, and Peyton Manning led the Colts to a field goal and a touchdown on their first two series.

Big Ben sitting

Ben Roethlisberger might not take another snap at Heinz Field until his suspension for off-the-field behavior ends in October.

Roethlisberger never warmed up, put his helmet on or stepped into the huddle on a rainy Saturday night as the Steelers beat the Detroit Lions 23-7 in a preseason game.

Roethlisberger is expected to play Saturday at the New York Giants and Aug. 29 at Denver. But, since the starters normally play only a few snaps in the final preseason game, Roethlisberger also might sit out Sept. 2 against Carolina in Pittsburgh.

Quick kicks

Texans rookie running back Ben Tate will need surgery after suffering a severe ankle injury in Saturday’s preseason opener in Arizona. … Patriots linebacker Derrick Burgess was reinstated Friday to the active roster from the reserve-did not report list after being missing since the start of training camp. After passing a physical and conditioning test, he practiced for the first time with the team Sunday.