Tim Tebow struggled to pass the ball well all year. The Broncos offense has shown flashes of brilliance, but was mostly anemic at best.Every time the Broncos won, the media credited Tebow with a win, no matter how mediocre his performance was. "Tebow just wins," they said. Even if he only completed 2 passes, or if the offense only accounted for one or two scores.
Today, however, it was truly Tebow Time. He wasn't perfect, but he was about as close as it gets.
Far be it from me to be a Tebow ball-washer. But credit where credit is due... he was outstanding.
On one hand, his completion percentage was still sub-50%. It took overtime for him to complete his 10th pass. He nearly killed Eric Decker by hanging him out to dry right in front of James Harrison.
On the other hand, he walked on water, performed miracles, and made the best defense in football look timid and pathetic.
In the end, Tebow finished with an absurd 15 yards per pass attempt. The Steelers were on their heels the entire time, loading up the box to stop the run, and allowing Tebow to exploit single coverage over their terrible secondary.
When they allowed running lanes to open up, Tebow ran 10 times for 50 yards. He also didn't turn the ball over, which was his Kryptonite over the past few weeks.
Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, whom I've criticized harshly in the past, looked like he didn't even belong on the field. He was clearly hurt, and it showed. He was sacked 5 times, compared to none for Tebow. He held on to the ball for too long, and was unable to deliver when it counted.
After the game, Tebow talked about the win, but stressed that he was most excited about visiting a 16-year old girl who has already undergone 73 surgeries. He's a genuinely good guy, and despite the media infatuation with him, it's hard not to like him.
No matter what happens next week against the Patriots, Tebow took hold of the Broncos' starting QB job for 2012, and completely removed any thought of the Broncos finding another starter. After all the talk that Brady Quinn might get some 3rd down snaps, it looks like Quinn has no chance of ever seeing the field, outside of an injury to Tebow.
His delivery is still slow, he still struggles with his accuracy and he needs to learn how to protect his receivers a little better. But if there's anyone who will put in the time and effort to improve, it's Tim Tebow. It's possible that we could see an entirely different QB when training camp starts.
Don't call me a believer quite yet, but this was definitely a start.












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