The Tebow-Haters will have plenty to talk about, but in a game where Tim Tebow attempted just 8 passes, the Denver Broncos got the victory over the Kansas City Chiefs 17-10. The Broncos improved their record to 4-5 while the Chiefs fell to 4-5 as well. The Broncos are now 3-1 in games with Tebow as the starter and 1-4 without him starting.
Asked about whether he wanted to throw the ball more than eight times in the game, Tebow said, “I play this game, and you’re on a team, to win games. And that’s it, however we can do that.”
“I’m a football player first, before a quarterback.”
That’s an unusual attitude to see around the league, where fans and players tend to focus on stats and numbers. The college read option offense that Tebow is running for the Broncos produced 244 rushing yards, and just 69 passing yards, but it was enough for the victory. Tebow scored first on a 7-yard run up the middle in the first quarter, and the Broncos never surrendered the lead.
While Tebow was only 2 of 8 for 69 yards, one of the completions was a 56-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, after the Chiefs had cut the lead to 10-7. The 17 points the Broncos scored was enough for the victory.
Broncos coach John Fox said, “We’re just trying to be efficient, do what it takes to win in this league. There’s a formula that has worked over many years. We were able to move the chains, should have got more than 17 points, but it was enough for us to win.”
Tebow seems to remain calm no matter what is happening on the field. It’s one of the reasons he is so effective in crunch time in the fourth quarter. He was asked after the game if he ever gets frustrated on the field, and he chuckled a bit in his reply.
“I get frustrated just like anyone else. Disappointed, want to score every time I touch the ball, want to have a great play every time I touch the ball,” he said.
“But I think something that helps with that is knowing, one – that it’s not life and death, whatever happens… My faith in Christ is something that helps with that.”
He went on to add, “You can’t look behind, you have to look ahead. It’s got to be the next play. I’m going to get better.”
The scheme that the Broncos are playing certainly is something that isn’t seen very often in the NFL. When Chiefs safety Donald Washington was asked about it, he said he’d never played against that type of offense, but went on to say, “At the end of the day, it’s just football and you have to line up and beat the man across from you and make plays. They played a good game, regardless of the style they played. They did the things they were good at and we didn’t stop them.”
And that is what it’s about – it’s about beating the man across from you, and it’s about winning football games. The Broncos scheme is unorthodox, but it still comes down to execution. At this point, they are far more effective running their current offense with Tebow at quarterback than they were running a more conventional offense under Kyle Orton. And Tebow has things to improve on, without a doubt, but he also offers the Broncos the best chance to win today. And if he does keep improving, he can be a very effective NFL quarterback.
