After a shaky 1-4 start for the Denver Broncos, Kyle Orton was officially named to the bench as Tim Tebow came in. With that, the Broncos rolled in a late-game surge to get past the Miami Dolphins in a thrilling victory. Tebow continued putting on a show with his late-game heroics, including a huge touchdown against the New York Jets, which officially brought up the term, "Tebow Time."
I have never seen that phrase, or the word "Tebow," used so much in a year. Thanks to ESPN and Twitter, it might as well just be the best NFL meme ever. CBS Sports on Twitter said that they posted over 1000 articles with the word "Tebow" in the headline...only for the regular season. The impact of Tebow was so strong, it had Kyle Orton being cut and sent to the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, in Tebow's last three games of the regular season, things did not look so good at all for him, including an ugly 7-3 loss to Orton and the Chiefs. Heading into the NFL playoffs at 8-8, many wondered what was going to happen. Was there even such a thing as "Tebow Time," or was all this just a fluke?
After the touchback with Denver standing on the twenty-yard line, there was no time to waste. Tebow took the snap and found Demaryius Thomas down the middle, who eventually ran all the way for the game-winning touchdown to lead the Broncos into the next round of the playoffs.
Tebow? I guess you could say that this kid is just magical. He had 316 passing yards...off of only ten passes. Crazy to think, but it happened. And what made it more crazy was that Tebow had 3:16 all over him. He had "John 3:16" for the eye paint to support his 316 yards and 31.6 average! Crazy.
As Denver headed to Foxborough yesterday, I was expecting an upset with Denver over New England against the Patriots. Sadly, it put the end to Tebow Time. In this game, it was Tom Brady Time. Brady threw six touchdown passes to lead the Pats with a 45-10 victory as they head into the AFC Championship game.
Even down by so many points, including 42-10 entering the fourth, Tebow still had the hope in him.
"Any time you're getting beat like that, it doesn't change how you fight," Tebow said. "It didn't matter whether it was the first play or the last play or whether we're down by 42. ... I wanted to be the same player."
Tebow had no magic in this game. It was a catastrophe. And with that, the Broncos' season is now closed for the 2011-12 season.
But many shouldn't be down by this game. Tebow has shown that he can be the starter. I think he is capable of it and I enjoyed this season very much. The NFL should definitely thank Tebow, or else they wouldn't have gotten so much revenue.
This season was magical and unforgettable thanks to Tim Tebow.
But with the Broncos out, it's time to say a good and safe farwell...
To Tebow Time.
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