Colin Kaepernick grabbed the early change-of-pace quarterbacking headlines in the 49ers-Jets game, which might have led the Jets to let Tim Tebow do a couple of things he hasn’t done yet this season.
They used him as a blocking back on a pair of completions by Mark Sanchez in the second quarter. Our history of scouting the pass blocking abilities of quarterbacks is quite limited, but we saw nothing wrong with the way Tebow picked up Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks on the two plays.
He also got to try a more traditional quarterbacking role. It went a little less well. Tebow entered the game on third-and-one from the Jets’ 39-yard line and ran a familiar play to those who watched him at Florida. He took a shotgun snap, ran forward and then threw a fluttery pass to tight end Dedrick Epps. It was complete for Epps’ first NFL catch and Tebow has a robust completion percentage as a Jet, but that was the end of the good news.
Epps fumbled on a hit by 49ers safety Dashon Goldson and Carlos Rogers recovered to give the Niners possession in Jets territory. To make matters worse, Epps limped off the field with what appears to be a knee injury and is now being looked at by Jets trainers on the bench. The score remains 7-0 49ers after two Jets sacks thwarted the ensuing 49ers drive and David Akers missed a 55-yard field goal.