Why It's Inevitable Tim Tebow Leads the Denver Broncos to the Playoffs

Is there ever a week that goes by where there isn't "Tebow-time"?

The Broncos defeated the Vikings 35-32 in an absolute shootout of a game. The Broncos were anemic on offense as usual in the first half, while the defense played perhaps their worst game since Tebow took over by giving up nearly 400 yards in passing offense to rookie quarterback, Christian Ponder.

If somebody had told you the Broncos would give up 32 points on the day, you would have probably guessed that they would have lost.

Well they didn't, and I'll tell you one of the reasons why.

Tim Tebow.

There was Tebow, rebounding after a terrible first half on Denver's first drive of the second half with a 21-yard TD pass to Demaryius Thomas.

There was Tebow, after Percy Harvin had scored on a 52-yard pass to put the Vikings up 22-14, keeping the play alive by stiff-arming defenders and running around to throw a 41-yard TD pass to Thomas yet again, to cut the deficit to one.

There was Tebow leading a 66-yard drive in just two plays, while also converting on the two point conversion, to tie up the game 29-29 after Harvin had scored yet again for the Vikings.

He wasn't done yet.

He led a 52-yard drive to tie the game 32-32 after Minnesota was led by Ponder to a field goal on the drive before.

After the Broncos' Andre Goodman picked off a Ponder pass with a little over a minute remaining in the game, Matt Prater would hit the game-winning 23-yard field goal after the Broncos had driven all of the way inside the five-yard line.

After reading that summary, that is four drives that immediately followed Minnesota scoring on their previous drives to keep the Broncos within striking distance.

This is also the fourth consecutive victory on the road for the Broncos, three of which were fourth quarter comebacks—which leads me to my main point.

It is now inevitable that the Broncos make it to the playoffs, either as a wild card or as AFC West champions.

If they do not make it to the playoffs, it would still be a great season for Broncos fans seeing as what we had to deal with over the past several seasons, but it would be a major disappointment.

Look at the Broncos' remaining schedule:

Week 14 - vs. Chicago

Week 15 - at New England

Week 16 - vs. Buffalo

Week 17- vs. Kansas City

There is no other way around it. That is a favorable schedule.

Chicago is struggling without Jay Cutler, and it was recently announced that Matt Forte would miss the next 2-4 weeks due to the injury that he suffered vs. the Chiefs.

The Bears scored three points against Kansas City, while allowing a Tyler Palko-led team to a victory.

If the Chiefs can beat the Bears with Palko, there is no excuse to lose to them next Sunday. Absolutely no excuse.

The Patriots game will be tough. Knowing how high-powered their offense is, it wouldn't shock anybody to see Denver lose to the Patriots in New England.

Buffalo is on a never-ending losing streak, now at 5-7, with their playoff hopes almost completely squandered after losing to the Titans on Sunday.

The Chiefs are 5-7 and have one of the worst quarterback situations in all of the NFL. Like the Bears game, there is no excuse to lose to a Chiefs team at home with a playoff spot on the line.

The Broncos should finish no worse than 3-1 on their remaining four-game slate. If they truly deserve to make it to the playoffs and are playoff-ready, they should finish 3-1 without experiencing a loss in a "trap" game at home against the likes of the Chiefs, Bills and Bears, all of whom have been very cold over the last several weeks.

The Raiders' remaining four-game slate looks like this:

Week 14 - at Green Bay

Week 15 - vs. Detroit

Week 16 - at Kansas City

Week 17 - vs. San Diego

The Packers are the best team in the NFL. The Raiders are tough, but traveling east while playing the 12-0 Packers? I can't see it happening in Green Bay.

The Lions are a vulnerable team, especially with the loss of Jahvid Best, but they are still a good team. The Raiders can easily lose that one at home.

Anything can happen in inter-divisional games, but one can expect the Raiders to beat an offensively-inept team such as the Chiefs. Although the Chargers game should be close, the Raiders should be expected to win that one.

If the playoffs started today, the Broncos would have the No. 4 seed and would be playing the Steelers at home.

All things considered, if the Broncos and the Raiders were to end the season with similar records—assuming the Raiders defeat the Chiefs and Chargers while the Broncos defeat the Chiefs—the tiebreaker would come down to their records against common opponents. That is yet-to-be-determined due to a quarter of the season left to play.

With the way the Broncos have been playing under Tebow, anything less than a playoff spot would be a disappointment.

Yes, the 2011 Denver Broncos should make the playoffs.

It is up to them to finish what they've created since that magical game in Miami in mid-October.