Throwback Thursdays: The 'Tebow 316' playoff win vs. Pittsburgh

For a moment, let's put aside the heated debate about Tim Tebow's NFL career, or even the undying notion that he might come back and play some day.

It's hard, for sure. No player in recent memory has generated more extreme feelings on both sides. But let's agree on this, unless you're a Pittsburgh Steelers fan: On Jan. 8, 2012, Tebow was the central figure of one of the greatest and most entertaining games in NFL wild-card playoff history.

[Join FanDuel's $1.75M Wild Card fantasy league: $25 to enter; top 14,530 teams paid]

This was the height of Tebow-mania, when he helped lead the Denver Broncos to the AFC West title. What a ride it was. There's no denying that the 2011 Broncos were one of the most exciting teams in a long, long time, with a number of exciting and improbable wins. But they weren't playing well headed into the playoffs. Specifically, Tebow was in a slump.

Then he played a classic. The Broncos took a big lead in the first half. The Steelers, playing through many injuries, came back to tie it in the fourth quarter. Then came one of the great plays in playoff history.

The Steelers walked their safeties up, expecting a run on the first play of overtime. Demaryius Thomas ran a crossing route against cornerback Ike Taylor. Tebow delivered a nice ball to Thomas, who stiff-armed Taylor.

"Here we go!" Broncos play-by-play announcer Dave Logan said, realizing what everyone else did at that moment, that Thomas had nothing but green grass in between him and the end zone.

I've covered many events through the years, and I've never seen a crowd absolutely explode like the Broncos crowd did as Thomas ran to the end zone and the win. It was an unbelievable scene. It was a phenomenal game. Tebow finished with 316 passing yards. Of course he did.

And who knew that would basically be the end of Tebow's time as a relevant figure in the NFL? He started one more game at quarterback, an ugly playoff loss at New England the following week. The Broncos got Peyton Manning. The New York Jets acquired Tebow, for some reason. They never really used him. Tebow threw eight more NFL regular-season passes for 39 yards. He hasn't been in the league since the New England Patriots cut him at the end of the 2013 preseason. Tebow is now an analyst on ESPN's SEC Network.

Tebow's last official NFL touchdown pass was that 80-yard score to Thomas to beat the Steelers. What a moment.

- - - - - - -

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab

from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1HiCBP7