Tebow has tepid debut with Jets
Tim Tebow picked up some yards by running around a few times after avoiding a sack. Other than that, there wasn’t much in his Jets debut.
Tebow had his best moments while scrambling behind reserves on the Jets’ line Friday night. He completed only four passes and threw an interception on his final try during the host Cincinnati Bengals’ 17-6 preseason victory.
The Jets let their celebrated newcomer play the second quarter and most of the third. He led the Jets to a field goal and completed 4 of 8 passes for 27 yards with the one interception.
“I did some things pretty good,” Tebow said. “Obviously, I want that last throw back. I tried to put it low and outside. Just a stupid play by me.”
Tebow also ran three times for 34 yards, avoiding sacks each time.
“I liked the poise he showed,” coach Rex Ryan said. “Obviously, (he) made some big runs and that’s what we say he can do.”
Other preseason play
Alex Smith tossed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brett Swain on the opening possession, backup Colin Kaepernick ran 78 yards for a score on the next and the 49ers breezed past Minnesota 17-6 at San Francisco. … Eli Manning played two series and produced three points before taking the rest of the night off in the New York Giants’ 32-21 loss to the Jaguars at Jacksonville, Fla. New York built a 17-point first-half lead, but Jacksonville responded with an 18-point second half. … Jamaal Charles took a solid hit to the left knee on his first carry, then bounced up and helped the Chiefs score TDs on their first two possessions en route to a 27-17 preseason victory over Arizona at Kansas City, Mo. … Jeff Wolfert kicked a 45-yard field goal with 28 seconds left to lift the visiting Cleveland Browns to a 19-17 win over the Detroit Lions. … The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got off to a good start under new coach Greg Schiano, scoring TDs on their first two possessions in a 20-7 win over the Miami Dolphins at Miami Gardens, Fla.
Chargers must replace Pro Bowler Mathews
San Diego will give several running backs a chance to replace last season’s leading rusher, Ryan Mathews, who had surgery on his broken collarbone and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Mathews was injured on his first carry of the preseason in the first quarter of the Chargers’ game against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night and did not return. Mathews led the Chargers with 1,091 yards rushing and a 4.9-yard average last season, earning him a trip to the Pro Bowl.
Ex-linebacker Naposki gets life sentence
A former NFL linebacker was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for murdering his lover’s wealthy live-in boyfriend nearly two decades ago in California.
An Orange County Superior Court judge sentenced Eric Andrew Naposki more than a year after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder in the fatal 1994 shooting of 55-year-old William Francis McLaughlin.
Naposki’s lover, Nanette Ann Packard, urged the former linebacker for the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts to kill McLaughlin because she stood to collect $1 million on a life insurance policy if he died, prosecutors said.
Around the league
U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan heard arguments on the NFL’s motion to dismiss New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma’s lawsuit seeking to overturn his bounty suspension without making a ruling. … Miami quarterback David Garrard will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery and is expected to be sidelined two to four weeks.