While Manning soon will arrive in Denver, Tebow could well depart. According to sources, Denver will try to trade Tebow — who led the team to an 8-8 finish, an AFC West title and a first-round playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) Tebowmania had no chance against Tom Brady’s playoff pedigree.

All the heroics, all the big plays and quite a few records belonged to Brady and the New England Patriots on Saturday night in a 45-10 rout of overmatched Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos. Brady threw six touchdown passes, five in the first half, putting the Patriots into the AFC championship game and silencing the nationwide frenzy surrounding Tebow.

The Patriots (14-3), winners of nine straight games, will host either Baltimore or Houston next Sunday for a spot in the Super Bowl. Saturday night’s romp snapped a three-game postseason losing streak, two of those at Gillette Stadium, and lifted the Patriots to the verge of their fifth Super Bowl appearance in 11 seasons. They’ve won three of those, two with Brady as the game’s MVP.

“We came in and started fast and it was a big win for us,” said Brady, who even got off a 48-yard punt on third down.

“I have no idea about records and stuff like that. Anytime you score 45, obviously with the help of our defense, and special teams played great – hopefully we can go out next week and play even better.”

From the first snap in 24-degree temperature (wind chill of 12), this was a mismatch. The Patriots were not going to make the same mistakes the Steelers made against this team.

“He’s been around the block a few times,” cornerback Champ Bailey said of Brady. “He knows how to win games. If you’re not ready to punch him in the mouth he’s going to eat you up all night.”

A nation transfixed by Tebow’s play, if not his religious beliefs, tuned in Saturday to see if he had any more magic in store for Brady and company. He had nothing left as the Patriots made this must-see TV only for those who live in New England.

“Any time you’re getting beat like that, it doesn’t change how you fight,” Tebow said. “It didn’t matter whether it was the first play or the last play or whether we’re down by 42. … I wanted to be the same player.”

With New England up 42-7, the fans began their derisive Teeee-bow chants. On the next play, the Broncos quarterback was sacked for an 11-yard loss – one of five sacks for New England’s 31st-ranked defense.

“We went out and played very hard and good things happened,” defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. “A great team win.”

And so ended one of the season’s most exciting story lines – one that began when Denver was 1-4 and made Tebow a starter. The one-time third-stringer promptly won six in a row and seven of eight, with a string of stunning comebacks.

“A lot of ups and downs,” Tebow said of his second NFL season. “Overall, it’s been a very special opportunity for me, something I’m really thankful for. There’s a lot of things we’re proud of. Obviously, it’s hard to see them all right now.”

That winning surge ended with a 41-23 home loss to New England, and the Broncos dropped their next two, backing into the AFC West title.

But they rebounded nicely in their first playoff game since the 2005 season with the longest overtime touchdown in playoff history, an 80-yard catch and run by Demaryius Thomas against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Like everyone else on the Broncos’ offense, Thomas was invisible against the Patriots.

Denver couldn’t cover or tackle All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski, who tied a postseason mark with three touchdown catches, all in the opening half. Brady toyed with the Broncos (9-9), throwing more TD passes than Tebow had completions (three) in the first 30 minutes.

“We were playing complementary football, and it was awesome,” Gronkowski said. “Obviously, you can’t start off the game any better than that.”

Brady’s sixth TD was to his other tight end, Aaron Hernandez, as the quarterback tied Steve Young and Daryle Lamonica for the most in a postseason game.

The two-time league MVP threw for 5,235 yards during the season, second in NFL history to Drew Brees’ 5,476 in 2011. He looked ready to get that much against the Broncos as he moved to third place in career touchdown passes in the playoffs with 36, trailing Joe Montana (45) and Brett Favre (44).

Brady was 26 for 34 for 363 yards and Gronkowski made 10 catches for 145 yards as the Patriots gained 509 yards in all. In stark contrast, Tebow was 9 for 26 for 136 yards.

The Broncos won the coin toss and elected to defer. Bad idea: They never were in the game after that.

Brady hit his first eight passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns. Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, who’s leaving to become Penn State’s coach once the Patriots are done, threw in a wrinkle by using Hernandez as a running back. On one of those plays, Hernandez broke free down the left sideline for a 43-yard gain, the team’s longest run this season.

But with the ball in his hands and a 14-0 lead, Brady momentarily stumbled. His throw over the middle for Julian Edelman sailed directly to safety Quinton Carter, whose weaving return set up Denver at the New England 24.

Willis McGahee scored on a 5-yard run.

Carter left the game moments later with a neck injury; Denver was already without strong safety Brian Dawkins with a neck problem. And its secondary had no chance without them.

Yes, Brady had cooled off, but only for a while.

Using the no-huddle, and aided by an effective running game, Brady hit three passes for 31 yards, with Gronkowski getting free over the middle this time for the 12-yard score. Several times, and not just on his romps into the end zone, Gronkowski simply shoved aside would-be tacklers to tack on yards after catches.

Brady’s TDs covered 10, 12 and 19 yards to Gronkowski, 7 to Wes Welker, 61 to Deion Branch and 17 yards to Hernandez early in the third quarter. Coach Bill Belichick wasn’t about to back off at that point, but the Patriots stalled inside the Denver 5 early in the fourth period and Stephen Gostkowski made a 21-yard field goal to conclude New England’s scoring.

Hernandez left in the fourth quarter with a head injury.

“He’s feeling great,” Gronkowski said. “Hernandez is a beast and I love playing with him and everything.”

On Brady’s surprise punt, which Belichick said they had worked on for years without using, Broncos rookie linebacker Von Miller slammed into the back of New England’s Dan Connolly, who wasn’t looking. Matt Light then shoved Miller, Connolly turned around and got into a pushing match with Miller as several players joined in and shoved each other, spilling onto the Patriots’ sideline.

Miller drew an unnecessary roughness penalty.

Notes: Brady holds team records for most playoff games with three or more TD passes (four); most yards passing in a playoff game (363); most postseason completions (450); most yards passing in postseason (4,770); most TD passes for a career (36); and most postseason victories for a quarterback (15). … In addition to Carter’s injury, S David Bruton left with a concussion in the third period. DT tackle Brodrick Bunkley also left in that quarter, with a concussion.

SOURCE:

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/recap/20120114017/denver-broncos–new-england-patriots

Offense

Broncos: If the Broncos can not turn the ball over, and get their run game going, they will be able to keep this game close. In fact if Tim Tebow plays like he did against the Steelers (312 passing yards, 2 TDs, 50 rushing yards, 1 TD), the Broncos cannot let up off the gas. The Miami Dolphins were up 17-0 at halftime in week 16, yet the Pats won it by 3 points. The major key for the Broncos is to get the run game going like they did in December when they had 252 yards on the ground. That will eat the clock and keep the Patriots’ potent offense off the field. If the Broncos had not turned the ball over three times in the last meeting, we could easily be talking about a Broncos win in December. The Broncos need to end their drives with 7 points, not 3.

Patriots: We’ve heard the same story many times over the past week. The Pats’ offense is Tom Brady and his deadly receivers. They get into a quick rhythm and they get the ball out fast. Brady will sit in the pocket as comfortably as someone reading the Sunday morning newspaper over a pot of coffee. His receivers can run after the catch, and accounting for Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, and Aaron Hernandez on every play can take a toll on even the best defenses. The Patriots dominated the time of possession, holing on to the ball for 33:41. They had 72 plays on offense compared to the Broncos’ 58 plays.

Defense

Broncos: Tom Brady threw 2 touchdown passes in the last meeting, and those came when the Broncos would rush 3 or 4 guys. Their two sacks came when the Broncos brought 5 guys on one play and 6 on another. The Broncos need to apply the heavy pressure to Brady before he can get the ball out. Brady will complete his passes, but it’s the Broncos responsibility to not let 6-7 yard routes turn into 15-20 yard gains. December was marked by a lot of missed open field tackles. In addition to putting the pressure on Brady, the corners have to bump receivers off their routes and disrupt the timing of this offense.

Patriots: The Patriots won’t be caught off guard when they see Tebow pass. They watched the film from last week, and they know they’re going up against a very capable quarterback. Bill Belichick has a defensive background, and you can bet that he’s going to bring some different looks that the Broncos offense hasn’t seen this season. In the last game, the Pats started in a 4-3, but switched to the 3-4 near the end of the first quarter to help them protect the edges better. That’s when the Broncos offense went in the tank.  They were able to get to Tebow four times, and they forced 2 fumbles. On paper the Pats defense doesn’t look all that strong, but they did a great job in December.

Special Teams

Broncos: Quan Crosby muffed a punt the last time these two teams met, so you can bet that Eddie Royal will be back there handling those duties. It’s a must to make New England work as much field as possible.

Patriots: The Pats are ranked 29th in kick returns. That doesn’t mean that the Broncos fall asleep, however. Special teams are as important as ever in the field position battle.

Coaching

Broncos: The Broncos may be playing with “house money” but that doesn’t mean that they’re not in it to win it. This team has nothing to lose so they can lay it all out there. Should they win this one, John Fox should get coach of the year.

Patriots: Belichick and Co. are the best in the biz. However, a bye week may have taken a little air out of their balloon. Since 2005, home teams in divisional games have lost as many games as they’ve won. The past two Januarys at Gillette are included in that statistic.

Prediction: Patriots – 27 Broncos – 24.

Preview Source: http://predominantlyorange.com/2012/01/13/denver-broncos-vs-new-england-patriots-playoff-game-preview/

Tim showed poise in the pocket and pulled the trigger, just as Elway asked him to.

The Game winning touchdown

And a video of the post game celebration inside the Broncos locker room. You’ll see Elway is extremely excited and gives Tim a big hug!

Tebow played extremely well tonight vs the Steelers. He threw 2 touchdowns and 1 ran in. I don’t have all the stats in front of me right now, but I think he threw for over 300 yards.

I will give a full game recap tomorrow. Now it’s time to celebrate!

Tebow highlights start around 1:15.

Yes, the Broncos lost to the Kansas City Chiefs this afternoon, but because the Raiders also lost, the Broncos were declared division champions based on a set of tie breakers. Who would have ever thought the Broncos would win the division after starting the season 1-4. Everyone at that point was talking about Andrew Luck. Then Tim Tebow got the starting job and led the Broncos to a 7-4 finish.

The Piitsburgh Steelers will travel to Denver next weekend for the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. The Steelers are a favorable matchup for the Broncos – Big Ben is still not 100%. The Broncos Defense should be able to disrupt him and grab a bunch of sacks. But we’ll get into that later in the week.

Now it’s time to celebrate!

Now on to football. The Denver Broncos suffered their second loss in a row on Saturday, losing big to the Buffalo Bills 40-14. Thankfully, the loss did not hurt them in the division standings. All the Broncos have to do now is beat Kansas City this week and they win the AFC West. Pretty simple, huh?

“Everything is still on the table,” Tebow said. “We have to go and execute and play a little better. Hopefully, we can get in the tournament.”

Tebow played what could have been his worst game as a pro. He was 13/30 for 185 yards with 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions. HE ran the ball 10 times for 34 yards and a touchdown. I’ve seen Tom Brady and Peyton Manning throw 4 interceptions in a game before, so it’s nothing to be alarmed about. But where it really killed the Broncos was that two of them were returned for touchdowns. You can’t allow that many points from turnovers and expect to win.

“My confidence is just fine,” Tebow said. “I have to do a better job of not giving them opportunities. I tried to make something happen, and I tried to force it.”

We will see how Tim bounces back after the last two weeks. If the Broncos don’t win the division then it’s all for nothing and the entire offseason we’ll be talking about whether or not Tim will be the Broncos starting QB next season. He has to get them into the playoffs.

This is the video that aired on NFL Network. It’s must see TV.

The Patriots have the worst defense in the NFL. Their secondary is a complete joke. Tim Tebow should have no problem moving the ball against the Pats, something he has trouble doing against previous opponents. That is until it’s TEBOW TIME late in the 4th quarter.

The Patriots are going to be able to score points against the Broncos defense. They’ll probably get up early and Tim will be forced to throw the ball to keep up.

I think if the Broncos can be at worst down by 7 heading into the 4th quarter then they’ll have a great chance to win the game. Tebow is just straight money when it’s crunch time. I’m predicting a 24-21 Broncos win, thanks to a last second Prater field goal.

What do you think?