AMERICAN FOOTBALL:THE WILD ride of Tim Tebow and the Broncos has been stopped cold. They were dispatched by the Patriots on a long and bitter wintry night in New England. It was the Broncos' most brutal post-season defeat since the 55-10 drubbing to the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV.
Moreover, it was the second time Tebow finished on the downside of a 45-10 beating. “I feel like I learned a lot this season,” said the sombre quarterback, who added that he was still learning what it will take “to get back here again”.
Throughout, the Broncos’ quarterback looked more lost than found. And the team as a whole were “not up to par”, coach John Fox said. They were not up to playing, but “I’m as proud of this team as any I’ve ever been around”. With 6:40 remaining in the third quarter, the entire stadium reverberated to the strains of “Te-Bow! Te-Bow!”
Tebow was not being praised.
On the next play, he was punished. Defensive-end Shaun Ellis slammed Tebow to the grass. Tom Brady-wannabe Tim Tebow could not begin to be anything like the Patriots’ extraordinary quarterback on Saturday night; he suffered in comparison. Brady completed his first eight passes and was 26-of-34 overall for 363 yards and a half dozen touchdowns. Tebow was 9-of-26 for 136 yards, no touchdown and no life.
The Patriots’ tight-ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, exploited and exposed the pass-poor, porous Broncos secondary for 18 catches, 200 yards and four touchdowns. Occasionally lining up in the backfield, Hernandez led the Patriots in rushing with five carries for 61 yards.
Fox said the Broncos had seen Hernandez as a running back before “even though it didn’t look like it”. The Broncos and Tebow didn’t target their tightends once until there was 7:34 left. Daniel Fells and Dante Rosario – each thrown to once – zeroed out.
This play-off game, which started at 8:15 eastern time, was over in 8:18 of football time. There wouldn’t be any Tebow time.Patriots touchdown, Tebow blindside and forced fumble, Patriots touchdown. So it was a sweet-and-sour season for the Broncos – an awful 1-4 start, an incredible 6-1 run, an ugly 0-3 finish to the regular season, the beautiful upset over the Steelers and humiliating loss to the Patriots.
“It’s not like we lost to some bums,” cornerback André Goodman said. “We lost to a great team and a three-time Super Bowl quarterback, so we have something to build on next year.”
The Broncos’ defence and coaches had no solution for the tight-ends, wherever they were lined up. It was a shooting gallery at the amusement park for Brady, who wasn’t rushed or worried.
“They have some pretty good pass rushers, some good cover guys. I thought we just executed well,” Brady said. “That catch Gronk made for a touchdown in the corner was one of the best I’ve ever seen. When you’re making plays like that, it’s really not about the defence.”
But the loss was about the Patriots’ superiority and the Broncos’ inferiority.
When Tebow had time, he threw on the run wickedly or the receivers dropped the ball. Willis McGahee could run (76 yards), but Tebow couldn’t hide. The Patriots flopped him on five sacks and held him to just 13 yards on five runs. Gerard Warren, former Broncos defensive lineman, said the Patriots played “technically sound” against the young quarterback.
The Broncos can be ashamed of the final photograph, but satisfied with the big picture. Although nothing was expected of them at the beginning, they still managed to make it this far.
The Patriots will now meet the Baltimore Ravens in next week’s AFC Championship game, after they defeated Houston 20-13.
