Tim Tebow: Why This Game Will Define Him as an NFL Quarterback

I have always been the kind of guy who believes the best players come up big in the biggest games.

I suppose I will have to start adding Tim Tebow to that list of great players.

Understand that when I watch Tim Tebow the athlete and Tim Tebow the person, I have great respect for who he is and what he has accomplished. I am also one of the first to criticize him and his team when things go horribly wrong, when I know there are other passers in this league sitting on benches that are better than he is and deserve a shot at starting in the NFL.

After last night's heroics and a 29-23 win in overtime over the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers, I am more inclined to think the man whom I have doubted for years and months is starting to prove me wrong.

But I am not willing to jump on the bandwagon just yet.

So much has been made of Denver winning games in the clutch and Tebow looking bad in victories that he was getting credit for when their defense bailed the team out or Matt Prater somehow found the uprights from 59 yards away. Last night, Tebow silenced his critics when they were ready before the AFC Wild Card game had even been played. We all just knew Denver would lose this game. They would have been riding a four-game losing streak, and John Elway would need to rethink his stand on a starting quarterback next year.

Tebow delivered. He cam up huge. He did not buckle under pressure. He and Demaryius Thomas, Willis McGahee and a strong defense won that game. This wasn't a "lucky" win or a soft win. This was a kick-in-the-stomach, get-out-of-my-way win that means Denver gets to do it all over again, this time at New England, who has not won a playoff game since 2007.

What we saw was a man throw a football. Not the tightest of spirals. Not the most beautiful birds in the sky. But the moxie to prove he is not some circus act and a marketing talent that needs to stay on the field to sell tickets. Phil Simms said Tebow told him in communication during the week he just wanted to go out and, "throw the football." It worked. Head coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy allowed him to do that.

Like the story in the Denver Post stated this morning, Tebowmania is once again inflated. It was the Broncos' first playoff victory in six years. This time, I agree with it, he deserved it. For all of us that doubted him, thought he was more flash than formula and at times, just want the "rock star" garbage to go away, this is a time where seeing something of this magnitude can only be good for football. And for now, it defines the former Heisman Trophy winner and two-time National Championship winner at Florida.

These are the games that make him a hero. Not what has done in the regular season. Not what happened during a three-game losing streak. But right now. He cemented himself in playoff lore. He cemented his job security for next season. And most of all, he cemented the idea in writers' heads, that it doesn't always have to be a pretty win, but when it is, you should give praise and not find fault.