Tebow, whose shortcomings as a passer have been well
documented, connected with Demaryius Thomas on the first play from scrimmage
after the overtime kickoff to floor the defending AFC champion Steelers and
bring the Mile High crowd to its feet celebrating the team's first playoff win
since 2005.
"I don't think it's the first time our offense has
clicked ... but I thought the timing was great. We had struggled over the last
couple weeks and a lot of that progress was because of our quarterback,"
said Denver coach John Fox.
"A lot was said, a lot was written and there's been a
lot of critique on him but I thought he stepped up in a huge way tonight and I
think he was a big part of us winning the game." The Broncos, who backed
into the post-season on a three-game losing skid, now hit the road full of confidence
ready to face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots when the second round of
the NFL playoffs resume on Jan. 14.
It was more Mile High magic from Tebow, who became a fan favorite
by pulling out late wins after getting the starting role during the season, but
he set the stage for the victory much earlier with a second quarter blitz that
ravaged the NFL's top ranked defense for 20 points.
Tebow's numbers would hardly shine alongside even average
outings by Brady or New Orleans counterpart Drew Brees but his 10 completions
on 21 attempts for 316 yards and two touchdowns were enough to earn Denver its
first playoff win in seven years.
The southpaw quarterback, who also ran in for a touchdown,
may have also found a big-play target in Thomas who hauled in four passes for
204 yards, including the game-winning catch that resulted in the quickest end
to an NFL overtime at 11 seconds.
"We just tried to step up, we knew it was win or go
home and this team wanted to fight and play another game," explained Tebow.
"It was a great call, it was something we had ran earlier in the game.
"When I saw him score, I was running pretty fast trying
to catch him then I just jumped into the stands. First time I've done
that."
Down 6-0 after one quarter, Tebow surprised the Steelers by
going to the air and connecting on two long passes, a 51-yarder to Thomas
followed by a 30-yard touchdown strike to Eddie Royal.
The touchdown was Denver's first in 22 drives and the TD
pass was the first given up by the Steelers in six games.
On the next possession, Tebow went right back to the air
hooking up with Thomas on a 58-yard pass then finished off the drive in a more
familiar fashion, keeping the ball himself and charging over from the eight for
14-6 lead.
The Denver defense also got in on the fun by intercepting
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was hampered by an ankle injury,
and giving Tebow the ball on the Pittsburgh 18 to set up a Matt Prater field
goal.
Prater would add another 28-yard field goal to cap a sizzling
second quarter that sent the hosts into the half to a standing ovation with
20-6 lead.
Roethlisberger, slowed by a high ankle sprain that forced
him to wear a special oversized shoe, took charge after the break engineering
an 88-yard drive capped off with speedy Mike Wallace racing around the end for
a one-yard score to cut the Denver leave to seven.
The teams traded field goals early in the final quarter,
before Big Ben again went to work turning a Willis McGahee fumble into a
31-yard touchdown to Jerricho Cotchery to tie the contest at 23-23 with just
under four minutes to play.
