Who says you have to be able to complete a pass regularly or have more than two decent offensive possessions to win an NFL game? Tim Tebow’s 20-yard rushing touchdown with a minute to play was the difference as the Denver Broncos playing at home upset the Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets, 17-13 on Thursday Night Football.
When the annals of great offensive football are written, tonight’s game will not be included. Both the Broncos and the Jets struggled to move the ball the entire game, especially on third down. The Broncos converted their first third down, on the game’s opening possession, but were stuffed at the Jets 21 yard line on fourth down. After the Jets went three-and-out and a 13-yard punt by T.J. Conley, the Broncos would get on the board first on a 34-yard field goal by Matt Prater. The Jets managed their first third down conversion on the ensuing possession, but Nick Folk missed a 52-yard field goal to tie the game. The Jets would tie the game on their next possession, on a drive that started in Denver territory after a Willis McGahee fumble. A Cassius Vaughn kickoff return gave the Broncos excellent field position in Jets territory, but the Broncos would fail to move the ball, a result repeated after their next possession also started in Jets territory.
The Jets managed to inject some life into the game on their first possession of the second half, as Mark Sanchez successfully worked the quick passing game and completed five straight passes to move the Jets down to the Broncos’ 1. After Sanchez missed a wide open Dustin Keller in the back of the end zone, running back Bilal Powell, getting goalline work after Shonn Greene was injured early in the game, fumbled, but offensive lineman Matt Slauson recovered the ball at the 1 and took it in the end zone for his first career touchdown and a 10-3 lead.
The Broncos would get the break they needed to get back into the game later in the third quarter, when Sanchez tried to force a pass to Plaxico Burress on third down. Cornerback Andre Goodman undercut Burress and took the ball 26 yards for a touchdown and a 10-10 tie. Joe McKnight fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Broncos had good field position at the Jets’ 42-yard line, but were again unable to capitalize.
The Jets broke the 10-10 tie in the fourth quarter, using their second and third third-down conversions of the game to grind out 42 yards in 11 plays to set up a 45-yard field goal from Nick Folk to take a 13-10 lead with 9:14 to play. After an exchange of punts, the Broncos had the ball at their own 5-yard line with 5:54 to play. Then, Tim Tebow took over:
Tebow to Eddie Royal on a swing pass for 8 yards, with Royal narrowly avoiding a near-safety tackle by Jets safety Eric Smith in the process;
Tebow on a keeper for 15 yards;
Tebow to Demaryius Thomas for 9 more;
On third-and-one, Tebow cut back on a keeper to pick up 7 yards and the Broncos’ first third-down conversion since their opening drive;
Tebow for 9 yards on a scramble the next play;
Tebow for 3 and a first down on a designed run;
Tebow to tight end Dante Rosario for 18 yards; and
On third-and-four, the Jets blitzed, and Tebow beat Eric Smith’s outside contain for a 20-yard touchdown and a 17-13 lead.
Mark Sanchez would then make things sort of interesting with a fourth-and-19 conversion after Von Miller destroyed right tackle Wayne Hunter on a sack, but the hail mary would fall incomplete and the Broncos would walk away with what felt like an unlikely victory.
The overwhelming theme of this game, though, as both offenses struggled to move the ball with any consistency. Neither team ran the ball well; even with their success on the last drive, the Broncos averaged only 3.7 yards per carry. Tebow was the only Bronco with more than 18 yards rushing, as Willis McGahee had 18 yards on 12 carries, Lance Ball 18 on 5 carries, and Spencer Larsen 13 on five carries. The Jets, meanwhile, only averaged 3.0 yards per carry, with Joe McKnight and Bilal Powell getting most of the work after Greene’s injury. Neither passer managed to make up for his team’s lack of run game on anything like a consistent basis. In the end, it was Tim Tebow’s heroics that won the game, but the real difference was Mark Sanchez gifted the Broncos a touchdown, and Tim Tebow didn’t give the Jets any points.
Three Stars
1. Tim Tebow, QB, Broncos. He was only threw for 104 yards, but 35 of those came on the game-winning drive, and he had 68 rushing yards, including 47 on the game-winning drive. Even for adept NFL passers, going 95 yards against a good defense like the Jets is quite an accomplishment.
2. Von Miller, LB, Broncos. The standout rookie was everywhere as part of a strong defensive effort by the Broncos. Officially, he ended up with ten total tackles, nine solo, including one and a half sacks, plus a forced fumble.
3. Mike Mayock and Brad Nessler, NFL Network. Nessler is up there with Al Michaels as the best play-by-play announcer, and Mayock is consistently less cliched and more insightful than any other analyst who does NFL games. With all due respect to NBC’s Sunday Night crew, this is the best announcing team currently doing NFL games.
Three Duds
1. Mark Sanchez, QB, Jets. He’s only able to have success in the quick passing game when his first read is there. He lacks pocket presence, doesn’t read defenses well, and made the costly turnover that was the difference in the game.
2. Eric Smith, S, Jets. He missed two crucial plays on the game-winning drive. If he simply keeps contain and tackles Tebow short of the first down, John Fox likely kicks the field goal and the game likely goes to overtime.
3. Jets Special Teams. Nick Folk missed two field goals, though neither of them was short. T.J. Conley’s 13-yard punt set up the Broncos’ first points. Joe McKnight fumbled a kickoff. Cassius Vaughn had a long kickoff return. The Broncos consistently had very good field position and the Jets were backed up.
