Tim Tebow's magic in Miami
Denver quarterback Tim Tebow scores a two-point conversion to tie it late during the second half of the Denver Broncos' 18-15 win over the Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium in Miami on Sunday.
Rob C. Witzel/Staff photographerPublished: Sunday, October 23, 2011 at 4:45 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, October 23, 2011 at 4:45 p.m.
MIAMI GARDENS — Through all the missed throws and missed early scoring opportunities, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow said he never stopped believing in himself.
"As a football player and as an athlete, you can't lose confidence in yourself," Tebow said shortly after Denver's stunning 18-15 overtime win over the Miami Dolphins. "If you do, you've lost already."
It wasn't pretty for the former Florida Gators icon quarterback, who had issues for much of the first three quarters of his fourth career NFL start. But with Denver down 15-0 and 5:50 remaining, something clicked. Denver went to the no-huddle and Tebow took advantage of Miami's soft zone coverage. Tebow, who was 3 of 8 for 24 yards in the first three quarters of the game, completed 10 of 19 for 137 yards and two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.
"When it gets to crunch time, he trusts what he sees, and that's what I see (from him)," Denver Broncos safety Brian Dawkins said. "He trusts things and he'll let it just fly.
"Early on in the game he was maybe second-guessing things but at the end of the day, he's a guy who is going to continue, continue to use his arms and legs or whatever to get the job done."
Tebow made it happen with both his arms and legs in the fourth quarter. First, Tebow cut Miami's lead to 15-7 on a 5-yard TD pass to fellow first-round pick Demaryius Thomas with 2:44 left. Then, Denver recovered an onside kick. Then, Tebow threaded a beautiful throw into triple-coverage, completing a 28-yard pass to tight end Donald Fells down to the Miami 3-yard line.
"It's inspiring when you see one guy feeding off another guy," Fells said. "It's part of the game. We all go out there and we all try to feed off each other. The guy (Tebow) has a little swag about him, so we try to feed off him."
Tebow found Fells again for a 3-yard TD pass that cut Miami's lead to 15-13 with 17 seconds left. Then, Tebow called his own number on a 2-yard conversion, plowing easily into the end zone behind guard Zane Beadles.
Two weeks ago, Tebow had a chance to tie the game against the San Diego Charges, but his pass attempt to receiver Brandon Lloyd fell incomplete.
"We had the opportunity two weeks ago, but we came up a little short," Tebow said. "I think we got better and I got better and we were able to make that play."
Said Denver coach John Fox: "That's why you love the kid. Two weeks ago he threw a fade and then learned from that. There were other people involved and now this was all him. I'm glad he did what he did."
Tebow said that he felt like he was playing a little cautious the first three quarters of the game, but acknowledged he missed some throws as well. He was particularly hard on himself for overthrowing wide-open receiver Eric Decker downfield on a potential long touchdown throw.
"I had Eric on a corner post route that I had to let go early," Tebow said. "I put it on a different angle than what he was on. It was 100 percent my fault. It's just something that I've got to get better at."
Tebow said he appreciated the support from Gator fans in the stands. He shared a hug with former Florida coach Urban Meyer on the sidelines shortly after the win. Tebow didn't take part in the 2008 Florida BCS ceremony at halftime, but was able to meet up with a few of his former UF teammates after the game.
"Gator fans are everywhere and the Gator Nation is everywhere," Tebow said. "They always come out to support. To have Coach Meyer here and to see Coach Meyer was great because we're personally so close.
"Their ceremony was nice, but at the end of the day I was still going to be upset if we lost and excited if we won. That was very nice they honored our team, but I was not focused on that at all."
Tebow, of course, was happiest in overtime, when veteran kicker Matt Prater booted the game-winning 52-yard attempt through the uprights. Tebow did not play a role in the overtime field-goal attempt. Instead, former University of Miami standout linebacker D.J. Williams came up with a fumble recovery for the Broncos at the Miami 34-yard line after sacking Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore.
But Tebow did more than enough in the fourth quarter to get the Broncos to overtime.
"We believed we could come back," Tebow said. "I'm so proud of those guys and impressed that they believed in me for more than 60 minutes, that we could pull this thing it out."
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.