NFL Playoff Schedule: New England Patriots Will Finally Put an End to Tebowmania

The New England Patriots will take another step toward the Super Bowl on Saturday when they beat the Denver Broncos and put an end to Tebowmania.

Whether you love or hate Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, you have to respect his passion for the sport of football.

Despite the fact that Tebow passed for 316 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 1-ranked pass defense) in the Wild Card Round, the Patriots and their NFL-worst pass defense will succeed in stopping the Broncos this week.

The Steelers stubbornly refused to believe Tebow could beat them and kept putting too many in the box to stop the run.

Tebow was able to beat the Pittsburgh defense with a few deep balls because of this, including the final 80-yard touchdown pass in overtime to receiver Demaryius Thomas that won the game.

The Patriots dominated the Broncos in Week 15 when quarterback Tom Brady's passing offense led New England to a 41-23 win. Denver couldn't stop the New England passing offense, especially the play of its two elite tight ends, Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski.

Hernandez and Gronkowski had a combined 182 receiving yards in the Week 15 matchup, and I expect these two to play even better this week. The Broncos have no one that can cover either tight end. Not only are these young stars good route-runners, but they also have impressive strength.

With Brady having two security blankets at tight end, the Broncos pass rush won't be as effective as it was against the Steelers because Brady will get the ball out quickly.

Tebow will have to score at least 30 points to give his team a chance to upset the Patriots and their high-scoring offense.

Asking a young, inexperienced quarterback to beat two of the NFL's best quarterbacks is a lot, and it's a challenge Tebow won't overcome on Saturday.

He doesn't have the weapons on offense to match Brady point-for-point on the road against a Patriots team determined to end its recent playoff failures.

Division Round Schedule (all times EST)

Date	Matchup	Time	TV
Saturday, Jan. 14	New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers	4:30 p.m.	FOX
Saturday, Jan. 14	Denver Broncos at New England Patriots	8 p.m.	CBS
Sunday, Jan. 15	Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens	1 p.m.	CBS
Sunday, Jan. 15	New York Giants at Green Bay Packers	4:30 p.m.	FOX

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