NFL Wild Card Predictions 2012: Tim Tebow Won't Be Worst QB in Denver

Tim Tebow's future as the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos may rest on the bum ankle of Ben Roethlisberger, his Pittsburgh Steelers counterpart.

Well, that and the torn-up knee of Rashard Mendenhall and the Steelers' decrepit offensive line, among other things.

Speculation about Tebow's tenure under center in the Mile High City has run rampant in the days leading up to the Broncos' AFC Wild Card playoff game, and rightfully so. Tebow was nothing short of terrible across Denver's three season-ending losses, throwing just one touchdown against four picks and fumbling the ball away a handful of times along the way.

Oh, and going 30-for-73 passing over that very same stretch certainly doesn't help his case, either.

That run of futility all but wiped clean the once-glowing memory of Tebow leading the Broncos to six consecutive victories behind clutch fourth-quarter play, and a productive running game and some impressive work by Denver's pass rush on the other side of the ball.

In any case, there remain conflicting reports about the strength of Tebow's hold on the starting gig in Denver, though it wouldn't exactly be a surprise if head coach John Fox made a desperate switch to Brady Quinn in the event that Tebow stinks up Mile High Stadium. After all, Fox's job is to win football games, not blindly cling to fleeting loyalties and the demands of the home fans.

Luckily for Tebow, he'll have plenty of help from folks on both sidelines. On his own team, Tebow will lean on the league's No. 1 rushing attack against a Steelers defense that ranked 15th against the run, according to Football Outsiders.

From the Steelers' end, the absence of safety Ryan Clark in support should leave a few extra lanes open for Tebow and Willis McGahee to exploit, while the rest of the defense, which came up with an NFL-worst 15 takeaways this season, figures to allow the Broncos to hang onto the ball more often than not.

And, of course, there's Big Ben, who's been hobbling around on a sprained ankle for nearly a month now. Roethlisberger performed poorly on it during Pittsburgh's last two games of the season and tweaked it once more against the Cleveland Browns in Week 17.

Without the running and (more importantly) pass-blocking of Rashard Mendenhall in the backfield, Big Ben may be left to fend for himself against a vicious Denver pass rush, assuming Von Miller's cast doesn't get in the way as it has down the stretch.

In other words, win or lose, the responsibility for the result of Sunday's game for the Broncos won't rest solely on the burly shoulders of Tim Tebow, just as it hasn't in any of his starts this season. Whether the media, the fans and, above all, the team recognizes that is another story entirely.

One in which a one-legged Big Ben will play a part.

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