Broncos' Tim Tebow Finishes Strong in Preseason Finale

Here are some impressions from the Denver Broncos' 31-24 loss at Minnesota on Thursday night in a preseason finale:

Rookie quarterback Tim Tebow recovered nicely from a rough start against the Vikings and appears to have the edge over Brady Quinn for the No. 2 job behind starter Kyle Orton.

Tebow's fumbled snap on his first play was returned for a touchdown and he threw an interception that led to a Vikings field goal during his next series. But he pulled himself together and then went on a tear. He completed 12 of 13 passes at one point, including a 39-yard touchdown pass to Matt Willis and converted a third down with a 14-yard scramble.

Overall, Tebow was 12 of 16 for 167 yards for a 75 percent completion rate, a 10.4-yard average per completion and a passer rating of 102.9.

Quinn had his strongest outing of the preseason after struggling previously but Tebow may have too much momentum for him to win the backup job.

Almost lost in all the hype over "Tebowmania" has been the exceptional preseason play of Orton, the only one among the three with the benefit of a year in coach Josh McDaniels' complicated offensive system. Orton has turned that experience into a preseason that saw him go 38 of 57 for 397 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions and a 95.4 passer rating.

He led the Broncos to a touchdown on their opening series with LenDale White finishing the drive with a 2-yard run. In all, Orton led the Broncos to 52 points in his six quarters of preseason play.

"Hopefully, we can do that in the regular season," Orton told the Denver Post. "I think we got some confidence from the preseason. I think more than anything, we're excited."
Meanwhile, running back LenDale White limped-off the field in the second quarter with a right foot/ankle injury. He had rushed five times for 19 yards and a touchdown before leaving. There's no immediate word on the severity of the injury. However, White won't be available to the Broncos for a month into the regular season after serving a four-game league-imposed suspension for violating the NFL's drug policy.

Also injured was right tackle Ryan Harris. He left the game with a left ankle/foot injury.

But the news was not all bad on the injury front for the Broncos. Running back Correll Buckhalter made his preseason debut after missing the bulk of the training camp with a neck/back stinger. Buckhalter ran three times for 3 yards. Also making his first game appearance of the year was Pro Bowl left tackle Ryan Clady, who returned to practice last week after missing spring workouts and most of training camp with a knee injury suffered in a pickup basketball game.

Though the Broncos were without their top draft pick, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, due to a foot injury, the team had to pleased with the play of young receivers Matt Willis and Eric Decker. Willis had five catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. He's back for another try at making the team after just missing last year. Decker, a third-round pick, had 10 catches for 114 yards.