Steelers vs. Broncos: Why Tim Tebow Will Be Embarrassed in Wild Card Round

On Sunday night, the Denver Broncos' magical season will come to an end, and they will have Tim Tebow to "thank" for it. 

It was cute to watch the young guy squeak out wins and get his team in the playoffs, but the honeymoon is now over. The book on Tebow is out, and it is very simple: Load up the box to stop the run and play tight man coverage on the outside.

Against any other competent quarterback, loading the box with eight and nine guys is asking to get burned for a big play. However, defensive coordinators don't have that worry when facing Tebow because Tebow does not have the ability to make stick throws into tight windows.

His mechanical issues aside, Tebow's biggest issue is that he does not know what "open" is in the NFL. At this level, rarely are your receivers going to gain more than a step of separation. When they do gain that one step of separation, the window is still too tight for Tebow to make the throw, which is why you are seeing him hold onto the ball for far too long.

Holding onto the ball is only asking for trouble against the Steelers defense, which will be starting LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison at the same time for the first time since Week 4. Those two linebackers have perfected the art of the strip sack. Tebow's awkward throwing motion will give those two plenty of opportunities.

Troy Polamalu has had an up-and-down season so far, but he was built to stop quarterback like Tebow. Should Tebow choose to run, Polamalu is physical enough to bring him down on his own, which is usually an issue for defensive backs. 

Weaknesses tend to be exposed around playoff time, and few players are more flawed and vulnerable than Tebow. I don't just expect Tebow to have a bad outing; I expect him to play himself out of the Broncos' starting job.