Optimists on the Broncos’ bandwagon were viewed as being off the wagon.
Analysts. Oddsmakers. Heck, even some of the Broncos’ players themselves expressed doubt about their quarterback’s chances of leading Denver past Pittsburgh in their AFC Wild-Card matchup on Sunday.
After all, defensive minds had Tebow figured out. Bump and run his receivers and keep him contained in the pocket. Simple as that. Three straight atrocious performances against the Patriots, Bills and Chiefs had all contributed to a finalized blueprint serving to end Tebow’s storybook season.
Plus, it was the Steelers. Their defense is led by quite possibly the greatest defensive mind in the history of football, Dick LeBeau. And safety Troy Polamalu, quite possibly the best defensive player in the game today, would be Tebow’s shadow. He’d hawk him down if he ran. He’d prey on his throws if he did, in fact, “pull the trigger” as John Elway instructed him.
And if he struggled as a result, rumors were swirling all week that Brady Quinn may take over. Well, after one quarter, Tebow had managed zero passing yards, making it three times this season in which Tebow hasn’t recorded any passing yards in the first quarter. As for the second quarter by the way, Tebow’s favorite target Eric Decker was lost for the game with a knee injury.
It almost made it seem like those in Vegas were justified in giving the Packers better odds of winning the Super Bowl than the odds they had given the Broncos to get past the Steelers.
But as we watch him more and more, it’s become clear: There are no blueprints for Tebow. Not as long as he’s drawing up his own plans.
Denver defeated Pittsburgh, 29-23 in overtime on Sunday, leading the Broncos past a perennial power led by a two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback. Now he’ll look to lead the Broncos past another perennial power led by a three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback. On the road.
Tebow went 10-for-21 passing for 316 yards and two passing touchdowns. He also ran 10 times for 50 yards while adding another score on the ground. It’s obvious that Tebow and the read option handoff he popularized with Percy Harvin in college has confused even the best defenses in the pros. However, without a legitimate passing game out of the formation from which the read option is run, defenses had crowded the line of scrimmage to suffocate the Broncos’ offense.
That was before the Broncos’ Hall of Fame quarterback told Tebow to “pull the trigger”. As a result, Tebow made the aggressive Steelers defense pay by averaging a playoff-record 31.6 yards off his 10 completions. To put this in perspective, Tebow averaged over 30 yards per completion against a defense that had only allowed seven passes of 30+ yards all season long.
The final play of the game epitomized Tebow’s big-play potential. His 80-yard touchdown strike to his favorite target Sunday, Demaryius Thomas, was a product of the attention given to the often-called read option. The quick score, which still satisfied the NFL’s new non-sudden death overtime rules, wound up being the longest postseason score in NFL history. Some will look at it as a lucky play that happened to go the distance. On the contrary, the play signified just how deadly Tebow’s skill set can make him at the pro level.
According to sources, Tebow was awarded a $250,000 bonus as part of an escalator in his contract. The incentive applies to each playoff victory Tebow notches, assuming he was involved in at least 70 percent of the Broncos’ plays during this season. He participated in 73 percent. He can earn another $250,000 with a win in Foxborough this Saturday night at 8 p.m. against the Patriots.
And what would a game with Tebow be without added drama? Tebow’s next game pits him against the coach that drafted both him and Thomas, Josh McDaniels, who just rejoined the Patriots’ coaching staff as of Sunday night. But New England is better served not banking on McDaniels providing a blueprint for the player he once hoped would be his franchise quarterback.
