Bengals Defensive Lineman Domata Peko Writes Tim Tebow's Number on His Eye Black During Game (Photo)

Bengals Defensive Lineman Domata Peko Writes Tim Tebow’s Number on His Eye Black During Game (Photo)

by Dan Duquette Jr. on Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 11:27PM

Defensive lineman often have just one job to do during a football game: make the quarterback’s life miserable.

Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko decided before Friday’s preseason game against the Jets which quarterback he was going to hone in on: Tim Tebow.

Peko wore eye black during the game with Tebow’s No. 15 written on each strip, making it very clear which of the Jets’ passers he had on the mind when lining up against the New York offense.

Mark Sanchez, you may recall, is the Jets starter at the moment, and he wears No. 6. But Peko, like many casual observers, knows who the big draw is on New York, and the display he put on Friday night — for whatever reason — only goes to show the dangerous game Rex Ryan and Co. are playing this season with Tebow on their roster.

Tebow is going to be a distraction — that much is clear. What kind of distraction he is may be the determinant in which direction the Jets’ season goes.

They’ll be hoping that Tebow will serve as a distraction for opposing defenses, wreaking havoc with their pregame preparation and making coordinators unsure whether to key on Sanchez or Tebow in their gameplanning. The chance remains, however, that it could all backfire, and the New York locker room could become distracted with players lobbying for changes in the distribution of snaps between quarterbacks.

Peko took sides clearly with his choice of accessories on Friday night. The rest of the league — including the Jets — will have 17 weeks to take theirs.