Steelers linebacker James Harrison is currently known best for his controversial shots to the head that may or may not be shots to the head, depending on who’s looking. On Sunday on Mile High Field at Mile High Stadium, in a playoff game against the Broncos that was a few levels beyond epic, Harrison changed the game not with a shot to anyone’s head, but with a rarely seen inadvertent hit to the knee.

Bear with me for a minute, because it’s true that Harrison’s second-quarter hit on Eric Decker was long forgotten by the time Denver’s Demaryius Thomas put an exclamation point on the Broncos’ 29-23 victory.  But it was Harrison’s low tackle of Decker that altered a game which had plodded along to that point, just as everyone had thought: The Steelers were up early, the game was ugly and Denver was having trouble just completing a pass.  Imagine that.

For reasons unknown probably even to Tim Tebow himself, the Broncos passing game quite literally exploded just minutes after Tebow’s first completed pass was reversed on a challenge. Up to that point, the Broncos had run a grand total of seven plays and gained a grand total of six yards.  Their ghastly offense bore a close resemblance to the offense that had failed to score a touchdown in 22 drives and had put up 17 points combined against the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.

Imagine that.

So, naturally, facing a 3rd-and-12, while simultaneously staring at a third consecutive three-and-out, Tebow reared back and connected on a 51-yard bomb to Thomas, who was now the Broncos' top receiver.  It was easily Tebow’s best throw in over a month.  Two plays later, he upped the ante, throwing an even more picture-perfect long ball to Eddie Royal in the back of the end zone.

Just like that, Tebow Mania was back.  Back, and better than ever.

On Denver’s next possession, Tebow hit Thomas again on a long ball, this time for 58 yards— the longest pass completion of his career.  Two plays later, Tebow rushed up the middle for a touchdown, and all the self-doubt Tebow and the Broncos built up over three ugly losses disappeared into the Mile High air.

Meanwhile, for the Steelers, it was a nightmare that was only getting worse.  Ben Roethlisberger, playing valiantly on an ankle that was far from healthy, looked more and more shaky as the first half wore on.  He was already missing his starting running back and his All-Pro center.  The offensive line was having all sorts of trouble keeping Denver’s vaunted pass rush at bay.

Pittsburgh's defense wasn’t faring much better.  Defensive linemen Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel departed early in the game with injuries, leaving only three healthy down-linemen for the rest of the game in the elevated altitude.  The defense was already without safety Ryan Clark, and the Steelers' top-ranked secondary was slowly falling apart without him.

No one could have predicted that the Steelers, nine-point favorites at kickoff, would limp into halftime, battered and bruised, down 20-6 and looking for all the world like they were dead in the water.

As bad as the Steelers were in the first half, there was one silver lining:  The leaky defense managed to stop Denver twice in the red zone.  The halftime score of 20-6 could have been much worse, and Pittsburgh was very much in the game.

Roethlisberger put on his superman cape in the second half, leading three scoring drives while looking as sharp as he usually does in the playoffs.  He had plenty of help from his receivers, who caught pretty much everything he threw at them; and running back Ike Redman, who had three long runs and finished with an impressive 121 yards on 17 carries.

The pendulum seemed to finally swing away from the Broncos when Willis McGahee fumbled at the 44-yard line with 7:45 remaining, giving the Steelers a chance to tie it up.  Six plays later, Big Ben threw a ridiculous on-the-run, 31-yard laser beam to Jerricho Cotchery in the end zone, which evened the score with 3:48 remaining.  It could have been one of Roethlisberger’s signature playoff moments and surely would have been the play of the game if not for…well, you know.  

Tebow could do very little in the fourth quarter, which was once alternatively known as “Tebow Time.”  His offense couldn’t move the ball and he completed only two short passes.  When the Steelers got the ball back at the 1:37 mark, the game was theirs to lose.

It’s rare that a brutal playoff loss has no goat—although cornerback Ike Taylor is a pretty fair choice for this one—but the Steelers may be haunted by a bungled final drive.  They were on the cusp of field-goal range before a taking a penalty, a sack and before nearly fumbling the ball away. 

The overtime was over before you could blink, a wicked ending for some of the Steelers' longtime vets whose game tonight may have been their last in a black and gold uniform.

So here’s your CliffsNotes recap: 

The Steelers are in control of the game until Harrison inadvertently knocks out Denver’s top receiver. 

Tebow suddenly goes nuts and starts hitting every pass. 

The Broncos take a 14-point lead—which equals their biggest lead of the season— and nearly blow it, as the Steelers roar back to tie it up. 

On the first play of overtime, Tebow christens the new rules by firing a pass over the middle, and Thomas breaks a tackle and scores on an 80-yard catch and run.

Ballgame.

The game was everything everyone loves about the Broncos in the Age of Tebow:  dramatic, perplexing, astounding and, of course, epic.  Roethlisberger and the Steelers lost under similar circumstances—sleepwalk early, huge comeback, falter in final minutes—11 months ago in Super Bowl XLV.  Somehow, in this strange world of Tebow Mania, this one hurts worse.  Imagine that.