NFL Playoff Predictions: 5 Reasons Tim Tebow and Broncos Will Be Blown out

Tim Tebow may have led one of the most miraculous turnarounds in NFL history in bringing the Denver Broncos from dead in the water at 1-4 to division leader at 8-6, but he and the Broncos will get clobbered in the 2012 NFL playoffs the way the Kansas City Chiefs did last season.

The beating Denver took from the New England Patriots last Sunday is a pretty accurate preview of what will happen no matter which team the Broncos draw in the first round.

Here are five reasons that Tebow and the Denver Broncos cannot compete with the likes of the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers come January.

The Broncos Haven't Beaten Any Great Teams

Yes, the Denver Broncos have won seven of their last nine games.

But they have done it against very mediocre competition.

Three of the teams they've beaten—the Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins (who were much worse before they started their winning streak)—have a losing record.

Three of the other teams they've beaten—the San Diego Chargers, Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders—are 7-7.

Moreover, they played the Bears after Jay Cutler was hurt and the Raiders in Carson Palmer's first start.

The only team they've beaten that currently boasts a winning record is the 8-6 New York Jets, and they certainly don't look like world-beaters after getting stomped by the Philadelphia Eagles last weekend.

Denver Has Been Dominated by Elite Competition

Since Tim Tebow took over at quarterback, the Denver Broncos have faced two excellent opponents—the Detroit Lions and the New England Patriots.

They lost to the former by a score of 45-10 and to the latter by a score of 41-23.

Tebow may be great at orchestrating last-second drives against the likes of the Minnesota Vikings, but when he faces opponents like the Lions, his team falls so far behind that no level of fourth-quarter magic can lift his team to victory.

When they reach the playoffs, the Broncos won't be playing the Miami Dolphins, or the Jay Cutler-less Chicago Bears, or the Vikings.

They'll be playing teams like the Baltimore Ravens, who will dominate them the way New England and Detroit did.

The Defense Is Not Good Enough to Compensate

Yes, certain teams have gotten by in the playoffs in the past with poor quarterback play because they had great defenses and solid running games.

But the Broncos defense is not elite.

They have great games (like the ones in which they held the New York Jets and San Diego Chargers to 13 points each), but they also have lousy ones (like the two games in which they gave up 32 points to the Minnesota Vikings and 41 to the New England Patriots).

The Broncos defense ranks 20th in the NFL in both passing yards and rushing yards allowed.

They only rank 24th in the NFL in scoring defense, as they give up 24.5 points per game. The defense is not good enough to compensate for an offense that has no passing game.

Tim Tebow Is a Very Poor Passer

You can call him a winner and talk about his college resume and comebacks this season all you want.

The fact of the matter is, Tim Tebow is a very poor passer.

The folks at ESPN don't criticize him because they are bullies, or because they are somehow anti-Christian.

In reality, it's because he throws the way you would expect a right-handed person to throw with his left hand.

His completion percentage is 48.6 percent, which is just abysmal. And he ranks 31st in the NFL in ESPN's total QBR.

I'll give Tebow credit—he's helped the Denver Broncos win this season by being careful with the ball and playing well at the end of games. And John Fox and company have been smart with the way in which they've handled him.

But he is not talented enough to face off against Tom Brady or Ben Roethlisberger.

Last Sunday, Tebow faced a New England Patriots passing defense that is the worst in the league, and he largely failed to capitalize on the opportunity. The number of quarterback draws called on 3rd-and-long in that game show that the coaches are very aware of his limitations as a passer.

Tebow and the Broncos Will Be Facing Some of the Best Passing Defenses

Unfortunately for Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos, the expected AFC playoff field is replete with impenetrable passing defenses.

The New England Patriots, of course, have one of the worst in the league, but the other three teams that have clinched playoff berths in the AFC—the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans—all rank in the top five in the NFL in passing yards allowed.

The two teams currently leading the fight for the last Wild Card spot, the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals, rank seventh and 11th, respectively, in passing yards allowed.

So unless they are playing the Patriots (who just stomped them anyway), the Broncos will be facing an elite passing defense no matter which team they play in January.