NFL Playoff Schedule 2012: Tim Tebow's Magic Carpet Ride Will End vs. Patriots

The Denver Broncos were able to prove their doubters wrong against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. But now, they have to contend with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. I don't care how much magic Tim Tebow has in him, it's not enough to keep up with the Patriots offense. 

Tebow is apparently the most unique and special player in NFL history.

He is allowed to complete under 50 percent of his passes week after week, beat a Steelers team that was playing without one of its most important secondary players and failed to make adjustments as the game went along and be considered the savior of the Broncos season. 

Don Banks of Sports Illustrated, one of the best NFL writers around, even wrote that this "new" Tebow is better than the one that came before him. 

"

You can't make this stuff up. The Tebow magic is back, and the playoff version is better than ever. With the top-seeded Patriots (13-3) awaiting in the divisional round, somehow I don't think Brady Quinn should anticipate getting any sniff of the first-team offense in practice this week.

"

You can make this stuff up, because that is what everyone is doing right now. Don't get me wrong, it was a great moment for Tebow and the Broncos, but to think that they are suddenly on the right track after three weeks of terrible play is so shortsighted it's not even funny. 

We should all know that you can't change a career in one playoff game, especially when everything that came before it looked so mediocre. 

Just look at the numbers. In the third and fourth quarters of the Steelers game, Tebow, who is supposed to be so great in the clutch, had 89 total yards. The final play in overtime was a mistake by the Steelers, and Demaryius Thomas made it by shoving Ike Taylor and Ryan Mundy out of his way. 

Tebow is getting far too much praise for what happened yesterday. He made some plays with his arm, yes, but when you really look at the footage of the game, it was another prototypical game from him: some good throws, but more bad ones. 

Going up against New England and their potent offense, Tebow is not going to be able to make those same mistakes. We have seen how well he does against the Patriots when he gets behind, so why should we expect this time to be any different?

One mediocre performance masked by a great finish does not make a great quarterback. 

AFC Divisional Playoff Schedule

Saturday, Jan. 14 at 8:00 p.m. EDT on CBS: Denver Broncos at New England Patriots

Sunday, Jan. 15 at 1:00 p.m. EDT on CBS: Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens

NFC Divisional Playoff Schedule

Saturday, Jan. 14 at 4:30 p.m. EDT on FOX: New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers

Sunday, Jan. 15 at 4:30 p.m. EDT on FOX: New York Giants at Green Bay Packers

Follow @adamwells1985