Mile High magician Tim Tebow conjured his wildest trick yet, plucking Sunday's wild-card overtime win ? and perhaps the Denver Broncos' starting quarterback job ? out of thin Rocky Mountain air.
Tebow remains the ultimate work in progress. But in leading the Broncos to their first playoff victory since the 2005 season, Tebow looked more pocket passer than shot-putting fullback.
NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock spent two days before Denver's 17-13 win against the New York Jets in Week 11 watching the behind-the-scenes dynamic responsible for yielding Sunday's huge payoff.
There is an unsung hero behind Tebow's 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime that capped Tebow's season-high, 316-yard, two-TD torching of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"There's a quarterbacks coach in Denver, Adam Gase, nobody talks about," Mayock says. "He's a typical Type A, push, shove, 'Come on,' coach. And he's got Tebow before and after practices going through every kind of pocket drill and throw you can imagine.
"Tebow cares. And he's got a young, in-your-face coach pushing him."
Countless hours of fine-tuning by Team Tebow resulted in the quarterback's smoothest footwork and most accurate passing day since replacing Kyle Orton after Denver's 1-4 start.
Tebow likely will never be a passing artist such as Drew Brees or Tom Brady. But he showed against Pittsburgh's top-ranked pass defense that there's more to him.
"What we saw Sunday was some positive movement in the process," Mayock says. "What I really liked watching Tebow was his ability to manipulate defensive backs with his eyes and shoulders. You saw that with Troy Polamalu. They used his aggressiveness against him."
Mayock underscored how Tebow set up his 30-yard, second-quarter touchdown pass to Eddie Royal by holding Polamalu in the middle of the field, first looking to his favored left side. Then he pivoted right, came to balance and threaded a perfect pass to a falling Royal for a 7-6 Broncos lead.
"Here's where you give Tebow credit: He held Polamalu with his eyes and body posture," Mayock says. "Then he redirects his feet, hips and shoulders on a right angle to throw to his right.
"And he trusts his receiver to make a play. ? All those things are really, really good signs of development."
Flash back to Denver's Oct. 16 bye week when coach John Fox benched Orton for fan favorite Tebow, saying, "We're either going to revolutionize pro football or set it back 15 years."
Well, the Broncos are 8-4 and two wins from the Super Bowl, the unlikeliest final chapter to this season's most implausible story line.
"I believe Tebow can be a pocket passer," Hall of Fame quarterback and ESPN analyst Steve Young says. "I tried to bend the position. I used to love to run around. But I got straightened out because I learned the truth ? if you're going to be able to play championship football, you have to be able to deliver the ball accurately from the pocket."
So after leading the biggest victory Bronco-maniacs have witnessed in six years, Tebow is the answer to traded starter Jay Cutler, right?
"I think Tebow goes into training camp as the No. 1 quarterback regardless whether he won Sunday or not," Mayock said. "And they're going to bring in competition regardless."
Still, deeply religious Tebow has kept the faith, mainly within himself.
"The kid has always had good touch and accuracy on the deep ball and will continue to work his tail off," Mayock says. "But they should bring in competition. He still has a long way to go in the pocket on intermediate throws.
"There's nothing wrong with competition. And I think Tim Tebow would welcome it."
Quick hits
?Archie Manning to USA TODAY when asked how son Peyton's on-going rehabilitation from September's single-level anterior disc fusion surgery in his neck was progressing:
"He's gradually getting a little better. We'll see. There's no way of knowing. I don't really think we'll have a real good feel for the next couple of months. We'll see how he continues to rehab and how he feels.''
?Houston Texans owner Bob McNair resisted fan clamor to pull the trigger and fire head coach Gary Kubiak after last season's 6-10 fade. Best move McNair never made.
"Right,'' McNair smiled after Saturday's first-ever Texans playoff win. "It shows we did do the right thing. I've been impressed by Gary's ability to maintain control of the team. In spite of all the adversity, he never lost the locker room.
"We needed some better leaders and better defense.''
Instead, McNair hired former Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips to give Kubiak the defensive whiz he's never had during five previous seasons.
Phillips, who coached from the Reliant Stadium press box after Dec. 15 surgery to remove his gall bladder, was touched to have his father, former Houston Oilers coach Bum Phillips, be named honorary captain.
Afterward, the elder Phillips, 89, said his son bypassed him as a defensive mind 20 years ago.
"I don't know about that,'' the younger Phillips said. "He's the best dad there is because he says stuff like that.''
Houston's defensive coordinator is scheduled to interview for Tampa Bay's head-coaching vacancy Friday.
"That Wade Phillips defense deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with the Baltimores, the San Franciscos and whoever else you want to throw in,'' Mayock said.
? Fox analyst Jay Glazer is reporting that Jeff Fisher will choose the St. Louis Rams over the Miami Dolphins for his next head coaching stop. But was there really a choice? If he chooses the Rams, he gets a franchise quarterback in Sam Bradford. And he can choose his own general manager, something not possible in Miami, where Jeff Ireland is the GM.
"It would be a great hire for whoever gets the services of coach Fisher,'' said former Titans receiver Derrick Mason. "Jeff got away from football for a year, didn't do interviews.
"I saw him over the summer. I told him he looked good. He said, 'Man, there's a lot of stress off me.'
"His best bet would be St. Louis. ? You can't win a Super Bowl without a franchise quarterback, and St. Louis has one in Bradford.''
? It was a stunning concession by New York Jets coach Rex Ryan that he didn't realize there was a locker-room fissure that plagued his 8-8 team. It can't be forced, but leadership seems one step where quarterback Mark Sanchez has more work to do.
Mason, played briefly for the Jets in 2011, said mending the disconnect between Sanchez and receiver Santonio Holmes must be the team's biggest offseason priority.
"Coach Ryan is going to have to make it a point to get this team back together, and that starts with Sanchez and Santonio, because that's the glaring rift,'' Mason said. "You can't have that kind of a rift between the star quarterback and star receiver.
"That bridge is not burned. It's a little damaged. But they can reconstruct the whole thing and mend that relationship. ? Those two guys need to get back on the same page, put their egos aside and do what's best for the team.''
It's fixable says the player who felt he was scapegoated for locker-room fracturing when he was jettisoned in mid-season and spent seven games with the Texans.
"I've gotten to know Mark as well as Tone,'' Mason said. "Mark is a good, approachable guy who just wants to win. Tone's the same way. But when you're losing, those flaws get magnified. This offseason will give them enough time to mend that relationship.''
?Eli Manning, who threw three touchdowns in Sunday's wild-card dismantling of the Atlanta Falcons, said the continued resurgence of a 32nd-ranked run game is key if the Giants are going to avenge their 38-35, Dec. 4 loss to the Packers . The Giants ran over Atlanta with 172 rush yards.
"We know offensively we're going to have to play strong, score points,'' Manning said Sunday. "If we can get the run game going, it opens up a lot of (passing) windows.''
? Don't discount the Jim Harbaugh-coached 49ers and the John Harbaugh-led Ravens, throwbacks who bring an old-school, impose-their-will mentality that they can bump any finely tuned, speed passing attack off its all-important timing and rhythm.
"This is as much a riddle of a playoff situation as I can remember seeing,'' Dilfer said.
"But the answer to this riddle could be a team like the San Francisco 49ers or the Baltimore Ravens. They'll have to play their best offensive football, but can they play balanced offensive football and steal a couple of possessions from the Saints, Packers or the Patriots to advance?
"If they can do that and go on long, 14-play drives a couple of times, limit the explosive offense enough, that's the winning formula. ? I know it's easier said than done.''
The 49ers are arguably the best balanced team in the postseason field. They can run the ball, stop the run, get after the quarterback and have the best kicker and punter among the final eight.
"In order to beat these attacking offenses, you have to be able to steal possessions with your defense,'' Dilfer said. "The Saints and Packers, for instance, average 12 possessions a game. If you can hold them to 10, that's how these teams can be beat.''
Mason, who played in Baltimore from 2005-10, thinks the Ravens have evolved enough from a defensive-centric team to a balanced offensive one to make a Super Bowl-winning run. Of course, they'll have to beat a mirror-image team in the Texans on Sunday, albeit with a rookie quarterback making only his seventh start compared to Joe Flacco, who's making the eighth playoff start of his four-season career.
"I'm picking New Orleans and the Ravens to meet in the Super Bowl,'' Mason said.
"I have to go with the Ravens. That team is due. They have all the weapons needed to help Joe Flacco advance. ? As well as Ray Rice runs the ball for them, Joe is going to have to be the key for the Ravens to go to and win the Super Bowl.
Game balls
Offense: Drew Brees continued his precision passing rampage, fueling the Saints' nine-game win streak. Brees fired for 466 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-28 strafing of the Detroit Lions last Saturday.
Defense: Houston rookie defensive end J.J. Watt, who spent a year as a Pizza Hut delivery boy after transferring from Central Michigan to Wisconsin, delivered in the biggest way. Watt's electrifying second-quarter interception of Andy Dalton for a 29-yard touchdown return ignited the Texans' first-ever playoff win.
Special teams: Veteran Texans punter Matt Turk pinned two of his five punts inside the Cincinnati 20-yard line and finished with a 50.2-yard gross average. Houston kicker Neil Rackers didn't allow a kickoff return with five touchbacks.
High 5
1. Packers: Still the champions, but offensive line has to hold up against a fearless Giants team with a four-man pass rush capable of pressuring Aaron Rodgers.
2. Saints: Defense will have to contain 49ers run game in order to get the ball back for Brees.
3. Patriots: Compelling storyline with former Broncos coach Josh McDaniels returning to New England's sideline to coach against his former top picks, Tebow and Thomas.
4. Ravens: Terrell Suggs and that Ravens pass rush against rookie T.J. Yates? Could be Sunday's third-down tipping point.
5. 49ers: Let's see if stingy, old-school defense can stop the seemingly unstoppable Brees and that underrated Saints run game.
Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/w6_pPaG7wRc/1
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