Tebowmania hype takes over in Philadelphia
Tim Tebow took the field to "TE-BOW" chants and completed his first four passes in his Philadelphia Eagles debut.
'Tebowmania' returned on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field - and it did not disappoint as week one of NFL pre-season came to an eventful end.
Sam Bradford will be the Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback come the regular season. But the battle for the number three QB behind Bradford and Mark Sanchez got more and more interesting as both Matt Barkley and Tim Tebow played well in the side's 36-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Midway through the third quarter, Tebow took to the field to "TE-BOW" chants and completed his first four passes. His fifth attempt, however, sailed through the endzone on third down, setting up a 34-yard field goal attempt by Cody Parkey that he missed.
Tebow - the first-round pick from the 2010 Draft handed an unlikely NFL lifeline by the Eagles - made his mark with two minutes left in the game with a seven-yard touchdown run capped by a dive for the pylon. After the play he shared a headbutt with a team-mate and a handshake with Chip Kelly.
Tebow finished with six completions for 69 yards and four rushing attempts for 15 yards and a score.
As for Barkley, he looked comfortable in Kelly's system during his first drive, leading the Eagles down the field in just over a minute with dimes to Jordan Matthews and Miles Austin en route to a nine-yard touchdown run from Kenjon Barner.
Barkley's next three drives ended with an interception, a three-and-out and a turnover on downs, but the former USC quarterback led the offense to two field-goal drives before giving way to Tebow. He finished the day 12 of 20 for 192 yards and an interception.
Highlight Reel
Philadelphia opened a 20-point lead at half-time, capped by a 92-yard punt return for a touchdown by Barner with just four seconds left in the second quarter.
Impact Rookies
First-round wide receivers were on full display for both teams Sunday afternoon.
Phillip Dorsett, the 29th-overall pick back in May by the Colts, caught four balls for 51 yards with T.Y. Hilton away from the team, while Nelson Agholor, the 20th-overall pick by the Eagles, electrified the home crowd with three catches for 57 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown.