Manning inspiring in defeat
Peyton Manning was magnificent in his final regular-season tuneup Sunday, throwing his first two touchdown passes for the Denver Broncos in a 29-24 loss to visiting San Francisco.
Manning completed 10 of 12 passes for 122 yards, including TD tosses of 10 and 5 yards to Eric Decker.
After managing one TD to go with four turnovers in his first seven possessions this preseason, Manning drove the Broncos (1-2) to scores on all three of his possessions, then put on his visor with 46 seconds left in the first quarter after staking Denver to a 17-0 lead.
Alex Smith threw a 49-yard TD pass and David Akers kicked five field goals for the Niners (2-1), who outscored the Broncos’ backups 19-0 in the second half.
Panthers 17, Jets 12: At East Rutherford, N.J., Tim Tebow got the fans fired up with a dazzling 20-yard run in the fourth quarter, but threw an interception three plays later and Carolina held on for a win over New York.
The Jets (0-3) still haven’t scored a touchdown through three preseason games.
Tebow faced a third-and-16 from the Jets 34 and ran around in the backfield, eluded a tackle attempt by Ryan Van Bergan and took off and slipped through a few other tackle attempts by the Panthers (2-1) before being taken down for a 20-yard gain by Reggie Smith. Three plays later, Tebow threw an easy interception to Smith.
Tebow had another chance to get the Jets in the end zone, but threw four straight incompletions to end the game.
Tropical Storm Isaac sends Saints scrambling
With Tropical Storm Isaac forecast to hit the Gulf Coast as a hurricane this week, New Orleans interim coach Joe Vitt says the Saints have cancelled practice and meetings today to allow players to evacuate their families. Vitt says the Saints still plan to practice at their facility on Tuesday morning before flying early to Tennessee to prepare for their final preseason game on Thursday against the Titans.
Around the league
Indianapolis traded two undisclosed draft picks to Miami for cornerback Vontae Davis. … Pro Bowl Kicker Billy Cundiff was cut by the Baltimore Ravens, who decided to keep rookie Justin Tucker instead. … Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak says rookie kicker Randy Bullock is out for the season after tearing a muscle near his groin. … The Atlanta Falcons placed starting defensive tackle Corey Peters on the injured reserve list and waived third-string quarterback John Parker Wilson. … Tennessee placed receiver and returner Marc Mariani on injured reserve. The Titans also put rookie safety Markelle Martin on the physically-unable-to-perform list.