NFL Week 15 Predictions: Why Tim Tebow Will Outduel Tom Brady

The biggest matchup of the NFL season takes place in Denver of all places.

The Denver Broncos have been on fire, and the New England Patriots have a chance to finish the season as the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

But the reason we are so engrossed in this game is the two quarterbacks: Tom Brady and Tim Tebow.

It's amazing how far we have come just in a few short weeks. Two months ago, no one was talking about Tebow because he wasn't even in the Broncos starting lineup.

Now, we are so sick to death of hearing about him because he is leading every sports talk show, having articles constantly written about him and even having pastors make claims that God is, in fact, a Broncos fan. 

It is not every day that you see a game involving the Patriots wherein Brady is the second-most talked-about player, but that is what Tebow-mania has done to all of us.

And it is only going to get worse after Sunday's game because Tebow is going to get the best of Brady and the Patriots. 

As much as a large section of the population is waiting for Tebow to fail, his performance over the last six weeks is starting to convince his doubters that he might be good enough to win games, even when he isn't throwing for 300 yards and three touchdowns every week. 

Broncos head coach John Fox took a while to come around, but even he has bought in to what he is seeing on the field. Here's what he told Gary Myers of the New York Daily News:

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"[Tebow] earned the confidence in the building. He’s hard not to root for,” Fox said. “He’s very humble, wise beyond his years at this point in his football career. I think he’s done a great job as far as getting better. He comes in on his day off. He stays late after practice. He’s all in.”

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Perhaps Tebow won't ever be the elite passer that we all need to see, but right now, I am 100 percent sure that I could go up against the Patriots secondary and throw for 250 yards. 

It is no secret that the Patriots have been weak in pass coverage this season: They rank last in the league, with nearly 309 yards allowed per game.

They do have 18 interceptions, which is more a reflection of the fact that teams are throwing against them a lot than it is some indication that they are doing anything to bait QBs. 

The Patriots defensive line isn't strong enough to get pressure on Tebow to force him to make mistakes, and even if they could, Tebow has shown that he does not turn the ball over. He has just two interceptions in 198 pass attempts. 

Brady will get his yards because he is that good, but the Broncos defensive line has been dominant in recent weeks, and, as a team, Denver is fourth in the league, with 37 sacks. Brady will be forced to throw the ball sooner than he wants to, which will cause him to make mistakes. 

The Broncos have proven that they don't need a lot of time to get back into a game, so unless the Patriots defense magically becomes the 2003 version that was dominating Peyton Manning in the AFC Championship Game, they are in trouble against a quarterback like Tebow. 

If you thought that the coverage of Tebow was out of control before, wait until you see how insane it gets when he leads the Broncos to a victory over Brady and the mighty Patriots. 

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