Tim Tebow was once again the headline story of the Week 16 matchup between the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium in frigid upstate New York on Christmas Eve, although it was not another encore Tebow time performance. Rather, the Bills rolled to a 40-14 rout of the Broncos in light of four interceptions thrown by the Denver quarterback, a performance better known as Tebow turnover time.
The Broncos struck first with a Tim Tebow rushing TD in the first quarter, and combined with two consecutive chip shot field goals missed wide by Bills K Dave Rayner, it looked as if it was going to go Denver’s way all day. That would not be the case though as the lone TD would be the only highlight for the Broncos in the first half with the Bills scoring 17 unanswered points, including an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown by Leodis McKelvin, to go into the locker room with a 17-7 lead.
McKelvin reflected on the punt return, “I told the guys before, if you give me three times with the ball in my hands, I guarantee one ball will go to the end zone. They gave me a great opportunity to return the ball this week and everything happened for a reason.”
The second half would start much like the first with Denver opening the scoring on a Tebow TD pass to tight end Daniel Fells. That would be the end of the scoring for the Broncos though as it all fell apart from there. Tebow would throw a pick near the end of the third quarter with the Bills leading 23-14 to start the fourth and everyone expecting Tebow time to commence as it so often has this season. On the contrary, in a matter of 20 seconds, Tebow would throw two pick sixes, one taken back by S Jairus Byrd and the other by DE Spencer Johnson to put the game out of reach and officially end the threat of Tebow time.
Tim Tebow would finish the game 13-30 for 185 yards with one passing and one rushing TD and 4 INT, also rushing for 34 yards on 10 carries. It would be by far the worst game of his young NFL career, never having thrown more than two picks in a game as a Bronco or even during his four years as a Gator at the University of Florida.
After thanking and giving glory to his savior as he always does, as well as expressing his excitement to celebrate the Christmas holiday, Tebow gave his take on why the team struggled in the second half, explaining, “I think that we weren’t able to execute on third downs well enough and we put ourselves in a bad position. And then tried to force to catch up.”
When asked if he was surprised by Buffalo’s play, he answered, “Not really, no sir. You got to give them a lot of credit, they played well, they executed and they came up with big plays. I just have to do a better job of not giving them opportunities. I tried to make something happen and I tried to force it. But you have to give them a lot of credit.”
Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick would have a quiet but productive game completing 15-27 passes for 196 yards. He accounted for no touchdowns, but committed no turnovers as well, the difference in the game. Bills running back C.J. Spiller would have the best game of his career, rushing for 111 yards on 16 carries, eclipsing 100 yards in a game for the first time.
Willis McGahee would add 64 rushing yards on 15 attempts for the Broncos, while the wide receiving core of the Bills would have a strong showing, highlighted by Stevie Johnson’s four catches for 92 yards and David Nelson’s three grabs for 41 yards.
The game was not simply decided by Tim Tebow’s numerous miscues. All three facets of the Bills game contributed to the overall team win. At least one touchdown was scored by each of the offense, defense, and special teams. The Broncos’ defense held the Bills’ offense to only 351 total yards, but a punt return touchdown and two interceptions returned to the end zone made the final score look like a complete mismatch.
Bills head coach Chan Gailey described the significance of the win after the game saying, “I think it was a big thing for everybody. I didn’t go out and say we’ve got to have it, but at the same time everybody knows you feel better when you have won like this and you get one more opportunity which is great.”
With the win, the Bills improved to 6-9 to snap their seven game slide after starting the season 5-2. Buffalo had already been eliminated from playoff contention, but the victory provides a boost of confidence and momentum heading into their final game of the season at New England on New Year’s Day after a disappointing year that has been marred with many significant injuries.
Denver fell to 8-7 on the season with the loss and made their quest for the playoffs that much more nerve-wracking. They still own their own destiny though, where either a win against Kansas City or an Oakland Raiders loss to the San Diego Chargers in Week 17 will clinch the AFC West division crown, which would be the first for the Broncos since 2005.
