EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Mark Sanchez got the play call from the sideline and looked at his New York Jets teammates, a bit surprised.

The rookie quarterback was being asked to air it out on his first play in the NFL.

"I said, 'Here we go, man!' " Sanchez said. "'Let's go! Let's do it! Dial it up!' "

Sanchez, who came in with 28 seconds left in the first quarter, completed a 48-yard pass to David Clowney on his first snap and engineered an early scoring drive in New York's 23-20 loss to the St. Louis Rams last night at East Rutherford, N.J.

"When Mark came in, he looked like he's been looking in practice," said Rex Ryan, whose head coaching debut was spoiled by the loss. "He stepped in and it wasn't too big for him."

The play was drawn up by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who also surprised Ryan with the bold call.

"I had no idea," Ryan said. "I was shocked by it, like, 'What the heck was that? Let the guy warm up a little bit.' It just shows you the kind of kid he is, a cool customer."

Sanchez, the former Southern California star selected with the fifth overall pick, had a rookie moment, though, seconds before zipping the ball down the right sideline and into Clowney's hands.

"As soon as he caught it, I was really excited — and then I was looking for my mouthpiece because I dropped it, mid-cadence," Sanchez said, grinning. "I said, 'Green-30,' and boom, my mouthpiece came out and the defense was laughing. I thought, 'What an idiot."'

Seven plays after the pass to Clowney, Thomas Jones took a handoff and leaped over the pile from a yard out, the ball crossing the goal line before Todd Johnson knocked it out of Jones' hands.

Sanchez completed three of four passes for 88 yards. Kellen Clemens, competing with Sanchez for the starting job, completed all four of his pass attempts for a total of 24 yards and was sacked once in two series.

49ERS 17, BRONCOS 16

SAN FRANCISCO — Kyle Orton threw interceptions in his first three series during a disastrous Denver debut, while San Francisco's two quarterback candidates were steady in the 49ers' victory.

Alex Smith threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Brit Miller following Orton's third first-half pick in the exhibition opener for both teams.

San Francisco starter Shaun Hill completed two crisp passes to tight end Vernon Davis for 41 yards while leading the Niners on a 58-yard scoring drive to start the game, capped by Alex Romero's 38-yard field goal.

Chris Simms nearly led Denver to victory with a big second half. After Miller's second TD of the night on a 40-yard reception from Damon Huard put the 49ers up 17-10, Simms hit Kenny McKinley on a 52-yard TD pass with 2:01 left, but the Broncos failed on the 2-point conversion.

VIKINGS 13, COLTS 3

INDIANAPOLIS — Sage Rosenfels led Minnesota on scoring drives on the first two series, helping the Vikings beat Indianapolis.

Indy went into typical preseason mode for coach Jim Caldwell's debut. Five offensive starters and the top five defensive backs all sat out. Peyton Manning took only six snaps and was sacked three times.

SAINTS 17, BENGALS 7

NEW ORLEANS — Carson Palmer, playing for the first time since an elbow injury sidelined him early last season, completed seven of 11 passes for 133 yards in Cincinnati's loss to New Orleans.

Jeremy Shockey caught his first touchdown pass as a Saint, a 22-yarder from Drew Brees.