Denver Broncos: Tebow Mania
During the 2011 NFL season, the Denver Broncos found themselves knee-deep in Tebow Mania. A first-round pick out of Florida the season prior, Tim Tebow was in a quarterback battle with Kyle Orton. He started the season on the bench, as Orton outplayed him in the preseason. However, fans grew tired of Orton and began to voice their displeasure.
Orton was pulled during their bye week after going 1-4 as the starter. Tebow replaced the veteran and one of the craziest seasons in the team’s history ensued. Tebow was not an orthodox thrower by any means and completed a paltry 46.5 percent of his passes for 1,729 yards and 12 touchdowns. However, he had a knack for making big plays down the stretch, especially with his legs.
The sophomore quarterback finished with 660 yards and six touchdowns on the ground and was credited with five game-winning drives en route to a 7-4 record in his 11 starts. The Broncos’ 8-8 record was enough to place them in a three-way tie for the AFC West title, which they held the tie-breaker in.
In the AFC Wild Card Round, the Broncos were faced with a tough challenge, as they were on the road against the 12-4 Pittsburgh Steelers. Their tough defense was able to slow the Steelers early, as Denver took a 20-6 lead into the half. Pittsburgh stormed back and the game went to overtime, which led to the best play in Tebow’s short NFL career.
On the opening offensive play of the extra period, Tebow hit wideout Demaryius Thomas on a slant pass and he took it to the house for an 80-yard game-winning score. Sadly, they were defeated by the New England Patriots the following weekend, which ended the Tebow era in Denver. He was then traded to the New York Jets and Peyton Manning came in to replace him — the rest is history, as the talented team around Manning was finally able to win it all in 2015.