Tim Tebow had a triumphant homecoming by rallying the Denver Broncos to a dramatic 18-15 overtime win against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday as the NFL quarterback carousel continued to spin.
Making his first start of the season, the former Heisman Trophy winner produced the magic that many football fans have come to expect with an unlikely comeback that set up a 52-yard overtime field-goal for Denver (2-4) and left Miami winless (0-6).
Injuries and poor performances prompted many NFL teams to reshuffle the quarterback deck, but there were no thoughts of change in Green Bay as Aaron Rodgers had another brilliant game, tossing three touchdown passes in the Packers’ 33-27 win over the Vikings (1-6).
Photo: Reuters
Rookie Christian Ponder made his first career start for the Vikings in place of the inconsistent Donovan McNabb and showed plenty of promise. Ponder threw a pair of touchdowns, but could not get the better of the Super Bowl champions, who improved to 7-0 and remain the NFL’s only unbeaten team.
John Beck, making his first NFL start in four years for the Washington Redskins (3-3), had little to celebrate as the Carolina Panthers (2-5) romped to a 33-20 win, while former Pro Bowler Carson Palmer had trouble shaking off the rust in his first appearance for Oakland.
Palmer, who refused to report to the Cincinnati Bengals all season, was traded to the Raiders (4-3) early last week and he will need more time to adjust as he threw interceptions in a 28-0 shellacking by the Kansas City Chiefs (3-3).
The Detroit Lions (5-2) could also be looking at bringing in a backup next week as Matthew Stafford limped off the field with an apparent ankle injury in a 23-16 loss to the Atlanta Falcons (4-3).
In London, the focus was on elusive running back Matt Forte, who scampered for 145 yards and a touchdown as the Chicago Bears (4-3) stopped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3) 24-18 in front of an packed house at Wembley Stadium.
Mark Sanchez, another quarterback under attack, silenced his critics by tossing three touchdown passes to wide receiver Plaxico Burress as the New York Jets (4-3) rallied for a 27-21 win over the San Diego Chargers (4-2). Burress, back in the NFL after serving a 20-month prison sentence on gun charges, was Sanchez’s go-to man as the Jets struck for 17 unanswered second-half points to improve to 4-3.
Sunday’s other results:
‧ Cowboys 34, Rams 7
‧ Steelers 32, Cardinals 20
‧ Saints 62, Colts 7
‧ Browns 6, Seahawks 3
‧ Texans 41, Titans 7
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB