By Balraj Dhillon (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: November 23, 2011
Two weeks ago the Denver Broncos won despite their quarterback only completing two passes the entire game and rushing for more yards than thrown. This past week Tim Tebow completed less than half the passes he attempted and threw for no touchdowns. However, he did rush for 68 yards, which was more than any other player on both teams. It’s an ugly way of winning, one which has Broncos fans on the edge of their seats until the final whistle of each game, but winning is winning. Since taking over from struggling quarterback Kyle Orton who won the starting job out of training camp, Tebow is 4-1 and the Broncos have improved to 5-5 on the season with an outside chance to get into the playoffs as a wildcard.
Tebow has been dubbed “The new comeback kid,” in reference to John Elway’s glory days in Denver in which he also won plenty of games in not the most appealing fashion. Elway, who now holds an executive position with the Broncos franchise, has no problem with passing on the reigns to the up and comer as long as he keeps winning games.
Week ten, against The New York Jets, was no different than any of the past five weeks in Denver under the Tebow era which is officially underway. Tebow only completed nine of 20 passes for just over 100 yards, but his legs kept the Bronco’s in the game. Up until one minute left in the fourth quarter Tebow had rushed for 48 yards, just nine shy of what Jets running back Joe McKnight finished the game with. It was a defensive struggle throughout most of the game, each team kicking field goals and scoring just one touchdown.
Trailing 13-10 with six minutes left to go in the game, Tebow and the Broncos offense got the ball back on their own five yard line. Tebow calmly orchestrated a well-executed drive down the field while taking time off the clock at the same time. The offense had the ball on the Jets 20 yard line threatening to score with a minute left in the game. However, a fan ran onto the field and had to be tackled and escorted by security before play could resume, so the Broncos had a few extra moments to plan their attack into the end zone. On third down, from the shotgun position, Tebow received the snap and after going through his check down which resulted in finding no open receivers, he resorted to what gained him so much success in college and the previous four weeks. Tebow tucked the ball and relied on his legs to win the game. He ran to the left and found himself in a one-on-one position with Jets safety Eric Smith. Tebow was able to successfully juke Smith’s tackle, break a couple more tackles before finding a clean stretch of green gas to the end zone. The Broncos went up 17-13 and The Jets were unable to orchestrate a late game winning drive.
Many doubt Tebow will be able to continue this stretch of success relying solely on his ground game. Of these doubters is BC Lions all-star receiver Geroy Simon who often takes to Twitter to insult Tebow’s style of playing but still gives him the credit he deserves. One of Geroy Simon’s most controversial tweets came a couple weeks ago when he suggested that Tebow will be in the CFL within two years. Whether this streak ends soon, or defences really don’t have an answer for Tebow’s dual attack, it’s a great time to be a football fan; Tebow is outshining running backs, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees are all having MVP seasons, and many teams who weren’t in the playoffs last year are now winning their divisions.
