Corey Sipkin/New York Daily News
Tim Tebow has a strong first drive, completing 4 of 5 passes for 52 yards, but the one incomplete pass stands out as the backup quarterback misses a wide-open Stephen Hill in the end zone.
Tim Tebow was perhaps a foot away from his first touchdown pass as a Jet.
Scrambling to avoid pressure, Tebow spotted a wide-open Stephen Hill in the end zone. Except Tebow didn't know Hill was wide open. He saw the cornerback leave Hill, but he didn’t know where the safety was. The result was Tebow trying to make a too-perfect pass, and he missed, as the ball skipped on the ground before it reached Hill’s fingertips. Hill, who had already caught two Tebow passes that drive, also slipped on the play.
“My eyes were over there for a little while, and so I tried to throw it kinda to the pylon and low, but I didn't want to throw it that low,†Tebow said after the Jets’ 26-3 preseason loss to the Giants Saturday night. As soon as he went to the sideline and saw pictures of the play, Tebow knew he had had plenty of room.
The Jets settled for a field goal on that third-quarter drive â€" Tebow’s first â€" and they would be Gang Green’s only points all night.
After that drive, Tebow had accumulated 52 passing yards. Five drives later at the end of the game, that number had only risen to 69. The difference between that first push downfield in the third quarter and the rest of the Tebow-led efforts was stark.
“We executed well, we were on the same page," Tebow said. “After that we just had some communication errors.â€
Tebow ended the night 5-for-14 for 69 yards with four scrambles for 33 yards. He played the entire second half.
The pass to Hill at the goal line was Tebow’s first incompletion of the game. Before that, he hit on all three of his passes, two of which were to Hill, who had been silent in the first half.
The offensive line had allowed Mark Sanchez to get mauled on numerous occasions in the first half. The second-string unit matched that effort as Tebow was sacked four times in the second half. The backup QB said that in the huddle he continued to encourage the line.
“Sometimes some of those guys haven’t always been in there together,†he said. “That’s the thing, you have to be on the same page.â€
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