NFL Power Rankings: Just How Good Are the Denver Tebows?

"Hey moron, there's a huge mistake in your headline!"

Ah yes, but is there really? Are we not better off calling them the Denver Tebows than we are the Denver Broncos?

Let's consult NFL.com's Elliot Harrison. He published his Week 11 NFL Power Rankings on Tuesday, and No. 21 on the list features an interesting team.

Scroll down, and you'll see the Broncos logo, but next to it Harrison just wrote "Tebow." Assuming this isn't an accident, I say well played, Harrison.

One can see why this little inside joke simply had to be. When it comes to the Broncos, it's all Tebow all the time. He is the only thing that matters in Denver (and, depending who you ask, the known universe), and he's really the only player on the Broncos worth talking about.

This is partially because he's Tim Tebow. But these days, the more pressing matter is that Tim Tebow is actually helping the Broncos win football games, something many said he would never do. John Fox had to install an option offense to make it happen, but it's happening.

Nevertheless, the question remains: Just how good are these Denver Tebows?

In my estimation, they're decent. I actually have them a spot higher than Harrison at No. 20. He, too, could have them there if he wasn't still holding onto the vanished realities that the Philadelphia Eagles and San Diego Chargers are good teams.

The truth, as I see it, is that the Broncos are actually the second-best team in the AFC West right now. The Oakland Raiders have control of the division and they look poised to finish strong, but the Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs both look doomed. Against all odds, the Broncos are in a position to finish second in the division.

If they're lucky enough, they may even play their way into the AFC wild-card picture.

That will depend entirely on how much longer John Fox's option offense continues to frustrate teams. As long as it's not broke, he's not going to fix it, and that means Tebow's throws are going to be few and far between. It will continue to be like he's back in college, except at Georgia Tech and not Florida.

Given the reputation of option offenses in the NFL, your first reaction is to say there's no way Tebow and the Broncos are going to be able to keep it up. There will come a day when he has to throw the ball, and on that day he will once again be exposed as a hack and a fraud.

Maybe so. 

Thursday night's game against the New York Jets is going to be a huge litmus test. The Jets are a good defensive team, and Rex Ryan has a good defensive mind. If he comes up with a way to stop Tebow and Denver's option offense, other teams will follow suit and join forces to knock the Broncos back to irrelevancy.

If the Broncos keep rolling, however, their curious little sideshow will take another step towards becoming a legitimate threat.

That's when teams will officially fear the Denver Tebows.

Zachary D. Rymer's Week 11 Power Rankings

Rank	Team	Record
1	Green Bay Packers	9-0
2	San Francisco 49ers	8-1
3	New Orleans Saints	7-3
4	New England Patriots	6-3
5	Houston Texans	7-3
6	New York Giants	6-3
7	Pittsburgh Steelers	7-3
8	Chicago Bears	6-3
9	Cincinnati Bengals	6-3
10	Baltimore Ravens	6-3
11	Detroit Lions	6-3
12	Dallas Cowboys	5-4
13	Oakland Raiders	5-4
14	New York Jets	5-4
15	Atlanta Falcons	5-4
16	Buffalo Bills	5-4
17	Tennessee Titans	5-4
18	San Diego Chargers	4-5
19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	4-5
20	Denver Broncos	4-5
21	Kansas City Chiefs	4-5
22	Seattle Seahawks	3-6
23	Washington Redskins	3-6
24	Jacksonville Jaguars	3-6
25	Arizona Cardinals	3-6
26	Philadelphia Eagles	3-6
27	Minnesota Vikings	2-7
28	Carolina Panthers	2-7
29	Miami Dolphins	2-7
30	St. Louis Rams	2-7
31	Cleveland Browns	3-6
32	Indianapolis Colts	0-10