EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It didn’t matter if it was Mark Sanchez or Tim Tebow at quarterback. The New York Jets could do little against the New York Giants’ relentless defense. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It didn’t matter if it
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It didn’t matter if it was Mark Sanchez or Tim Tebow at quarterback. The New York Jets could do little against the New York Giants’ relentless defense.
Rookie Jayron Hosley returned an interception of Sanchez 77 yards for a touchdown, and the defending Super Bowl champions stifled the Jets in a 26-3 preseason victory over the hometown rivals on Saturday night.
Tebow, making his home debut for the Jets (0-2), led the Jets to their only points of the night on a 30-yard field goal by Josh Brown. But he, like Sanchez, struggled to get much of anything going while working with the second-team offense.
“As a defensive line, we were able to get some pressure,” Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said. “And that’s really what we need to do if we want to be a good defense. Defensively, as a whole, we played pretty well. We were able rush the quarterback. … It’s a step in the right direction, a plus for us.”
Lawrence Tynes kicked four field goals, and former Rutgers fullback Joe Martinek had a 14-yard touchdown catch for the Giants (1-1). Eli Manning and the Giants starters were mostly quiet, too, with the Super Bowl MVP going 7-of-14 for 62 yards and an interception, but they didn’t need much to win on this night.
“I thought we had a couple good drives and moved the ball,” Manning said. “We converted some third downs, had some opportunities, but didn’t get in the end zone. Whenever you play the Jets, you’re always going against a great defense.”
Sanchez finished 9-of-11 for 59 yards and the costly interception but was under pressure on nearly every play. He was sacked three times, including twice by Jason Pierre-Paul. The Jets were without injured wide receivers Santonio Holmes, Jeremy Kerley and Chaz Schilens, and it showed.
Jets coach Rex Ryan joked his team’s offense would be “vanilla with some sprinkles” — and he wasn’t kidding. The Jets started slowly and never really got going as the Giants’ front seven played like the group that helped lead them to the Super Bowl title last season.
Tebow came in to a mixed reaction — cheers from Jets fans and boos from the loads of Giants fans in attendance — and appeared to energize the team.
But he had a shot at his first touchdown on second-and-20 from the 29 and short-hopped a pass to a wide-open Stephen Hill in the end zone. The Jets settled for Brown’s field goal that bounced off the right upright and over the crossbar to cut the deficit to 16-3 with 3:26 left in the third quarter.
Tebow was 4-of-5 for 52 yards on the drive, and had two runs for 5 yards, but finished 5-of-14 for 69 yards.
TEXANS 20, 49ERS 9
HOUSTON — Matt Schaub threw a touchdown pass to Lestar Jean, Trindon Holliday returned a punt for another score, and Houston’s defense stifled San Francisco in the Texans’ win over the 49ers.
Schaub completed 11 of 14 passes for 128 yards in two quarters, looking sharp in his second game since fracturing his right foot in Week 10 last season. The 5-foot-5 Holliday, who returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score in the Texans’ preseason opener, scored in the fourth quarter.
The Texans held the 49ers to 267 yards and 13 first downs. Alex Smith completed 5 of 9 passes for 49 yards for the 49ers. He was sacked twice by the Texans’ first-string defense.
RAMS 31, CHIEFS 17
ST. LOUIS — Sam Bradford threw touchdown passes on his first two drives, and the Rams made improvements on the other side of the ball in a victory over the Chiefs in the annual Governor’s Cup game.
Lance Kendricks and Danny Amendola scored on catches of 23 and 8 yards, and Steven Jackson ran for 49 yards on seven carries in a 151-yard first quarter that handed the backups a two-touchdown cushion.
The Rams (1-1) totaled 215 yards in a 38-3 loss last week at Indianapolis.
Bradford was 6-for-9 for 102 yards for St. Louis. Matt Cassel played the first half for Kansas City (1-1) and was 13-for-18 for 142 yards.
Rookie Greg Zuerlein’s 52-yard field goal capped a 17-point first half for the Rams, who trailed the NFL with a 12.1-yard scoring average last season while going 2-14. They scored 13 or fewer points in 12 games.
Peyton Hillis scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter, and Jeremy Horne caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Brady Quinn in the waning minutes for the Chiefs.
Seahawks 30, Broncos 10
DENVER — Peyton Manning bounced right back up.
Manning’s home debut for the Denver Broncos was a mixed bag. He led two scoring drives but threw two more interceptions and watched his teammates drop plenty of passes and cough up the ball.
Manning played the first half and gave the Broncos (1-1) a 10-9 lead despite three turnovers, including an interception in the red zone for the second straight week.
He looked great on a 2-minute drive, but that stalled when tight end Jacob Tamme, his old pal from Indianapolis, dropped a wide-open touchdown pass 6 seconds before halftime.
The biggest positive for the four-time MVP who’s returning from a neck injury that required four surgeries and sidelined him all of last year is that he took his first big hit in 19 months and got right back up.
Blasted by defensive end Bruce Irvin with 1:28 left in the half, Manning shook it off and completed a 22-yard pass to Brandon Stokley on his next play.
Terrell Owens had a disappointing debut for the Seahawks (2-0), failing to catch any of the five passes thrown his way.
BEARS 33, REDSKINS 31
CHICAGO — Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall looked sharp from the start in their first appearance for the Bears.
In their first appearance together for the Bears, Cutler and Marshall picked up where they left off when they starred together with the Denver Broncos. They connected on a 41-yard pass on Chicago’s first play from scrimmage to set up the first of two first-quarter touchdown runs by Michael Bush, and the defense contained Robert Griffin III.
Making matters worse for the Redskins, they lost Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Orakpo (shoulder) and safety Brandon Meriweather (knee) to injuries late in the first quarter.
The Bears pulled out the win on Robbie Gould’s 57-yard field goal with 31 seconds left right after Washington’s reserves gave the Redskins the lead.
CHARGERS 28, COWBOYS 20
SAN DIEGO — Shareece Wright’s electrifying 73-yard interception return set up Jackie Battle’s go-ahead, 2-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, and backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst threw two touchdown passes for San Diego.
The Chargers (2-0) overcame three turnovers, including two interceptions by Philip Rivers, to rally from a 10-0 deficit. The Bolts have five turnovers in two exhibitions.
Brandon Carr had two interceptions for the Cowboys (1-1). Carr’s first pickoff, of Rivers’ badly underthrown pass to Robert Meachem, set up a drive capped by Jamize Olawale’s 2-yard touchdown run for a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. Kyle Orton, who replaced Tony Romo after two series, had a 35-yard completion to Kevin Ogletree.
