East Rutherford, N.J.

There were as many big plays made by the Jets on Sunday as there were empty offensive series during their winless and nearly touchdownless preseason, and none of them had anything to do with Tim Tebow.

In his much-awaited debut as a Jet, Tebow made his most important contribution when he fell on an onside kick late in the Jets’ 48-28 victory over Buffalo. His most telling moment was after a run off left tackle on second-and-6 from the Buffalo 12-yard line late in the second quarter that was stuffed for no gain.

That a portion of the MetLife Stadium crowd voiced its snarky displeasure — Te-booing, you might call it — was directly related to what it had already witnessed: the official relaunch of Mark Sanchez as a beacon of hope, with the potential to go where no Jets quarterback besides Joe Namath has gone before.

If racing to a 41-7 lead and defeating the mistake-ridden Bills achieved anything for the Jets besides Etch A Sketching the preseason — just as Coach Rex Ryan promised — it was the obliteration of the contention that Tebow is here to challenge for Sanchez’s position. The memory of how good Sanchez was Sunday — at least after a turnover on the Jets’ first possession — should be burnished in the minds of every Jets coach, teammate and fan for more challenging games to come.