Another Sunday, another Denver Broncos victory and another Tim Tebow come-from-behind win. The Broncos defeated the San Diego Chargers 16-13 in overtime, as the Broncos erased a 10-0 second quarter deficit. The Broncos are now 6-5 and in the thick of the playoff hunt.
Denver followed what has become their winning formula, which is to play tough defense and keep the game close, and give Tebow an opportunity to work some last second magic. The Broncos held San Diego scoreless for the last 20 minutes of regulation, and for 14:31 minutes of overtime to secure the victory.
Broncos rookie LB Von Miller turned in another excellent performance, registering 10 tackles (8 of them solo), 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, and 1 pass defense. Elvis Dumervil registered another 2 sacks on quarterback Philip Rivers.
Rivers was limited to 188 passing yards, far below his season average of 302, but San Diego racked up 185 yards rushing behind a 22 carry, 137 yard performance from Ryan Matthews.
The Chargers jumped out to a 10-0 lead when Rivers hit Antonio Gates from 6 yards out with 7:58 left in the second quarter. From that point on, the Denver defense would only give up another 3 points in the next 51 minutes of game time.
With 0:55 seconds left in the first half, Tebow hit WR Eric Decker from 18 yards out to cut the lead to 10-7. Then, after trading field goals in the third, the Chargers entered the fourth quarter with a slim 13-10 lead.
Tebow led the Broncos in the game-tying drive with 5:27 left in the fourth. The key play of the drive was a third-and-11 pass from Tebow to Eric Decker for 39 yards, putting the Broncos on the San Diego 36. Another key completion from Tebow to Dante Rosario put the ball down at the San Diego 12 yard line, setting up the tying field goal.
The game almost ended as a tie, as neither team was able to score until the last 0:30 of overtime. The final drive included a Willis McGahee run of 24 yards, and a Tebow run of 12 yards. Matt Prater hit the game winning 37 yard field goal with just 0:29 left in OT.
Tebow finished the day 9 of 18 passing, for 143 yards and a TD, along with 22 carries for 67 yards. Willis McGahee added 117 yards on 23 carries.
The Broncos are now in sole possession of second place in the AFC West, just one game behind the Oakland Raiders. They have split the season series, and both have some tough games left down the stretch, as the Broncos will host Chicago and New England while the Raiders have to play at Green Bay and at Miami (who has been hot lately), and they host Detroit.
But since making the switch at quarterback from Kyle Orton to Tebow, the Broncos are 5-1 and playing as solid as anyone in the league. And if they sneak into the playoffs, look out.
