Denver Broncos: The 4 Biggest Lowlights Of Tim Tebow's 2011 Season

Saturday’s embarrassing 40-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills has brought the Tim Tebow-led Denver Broncos back to earth.  The Broncos are now thrust into a must-win situation at home next week against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The loss on Christmas Eve was arguably one of the most embarrassing of Tebow’s young career.  The Broncos’ starter threw double the amount of interceptions he has thrown all season with four, two of which were returned for touchdowns on Saturday.

Tebow’s timing with his receivers also looked off, which will certainly bring back the criticisms from those in the media who argue he is not fit to be a true NFL starting quarterback.

What was most troubling was the fact that of their three losses this far with Tebow under center, this was the first to a team with a losing record.

The Broncos’ Christmas Eve debacle wasn’t the first lowlight of Tim Tebow’s 2011 campaign, but Broncos fans are still hopeful that it will be his last. Here’s a look at some of the other lowlights from this season:

August 2011: Preseason

Tebow’s flashes at the end of the 2010 season had many assuming that he was already the Broncos’ quarterback of the future and starter for 2011. But the NFL lockout left Tebow with hardly any time to prepare and develop as a quarterback.

Poor play in camp and the preseason caused the coaching staff to give the starting job back to veteran Kyle Orton. Even though John Fox was conscientious enough to not officially name a backup in camp to avoid further quarterback controversy, the media created its own proverbial “blood in the water” in which to swarm around. 

Whether it was the Twitter war between Merril Hoge and Lebron and Tim Tebow, or the media declaration that Tebow was the fourth best quarterback on the roster, this year’s preseason was definitely a lowlight for the young Broncos quarterback.

October 10^th, 2011: Detroit Lions Defeat Denver Broncos, 45-10

A week previous, Tebow-mania swelled as he earned the starting job back, and then led the Broncos to an 18-15 comeback win against the Miami Dolphins in overtime.

Tebow returned to Denver the next week, but instead of a warm homecoming, he received a rude awakening from the Detroit Lions defense. Detroit sacked Tebow seven times in that game.

Defensive end Cliff Avril had two of those sacks and returned a Tebow fumble for a touchdown. Detroit cornerback Chris Houston also feasted off of Tebow’s miscues, returning an interception 100 yards for another touchdown.

All in all, Tebow was horrendous against the Lions, accounting for four Denver turnovers, 14 Detroit points and a quarterback rating of 56.8.

Adding insult to injury was the Lions' use of the “Tebowing” pose whilst dominating the quarterback, making the blowout loss a true lowlight of Tebow’s season.

December 18^th, 2011: New England Patriots Defeat Denver Broncos, 41-23

Tebow bounced back after the Lions pummeled him, leading the Broncos to six straight wins. But the honeymoon ended with yet another blowout loss at home for Tim Tebow and the Broncos, this time on national television.

Although Tebow looked decent overall in the game, he still committed costly mistakes. In the second quarter, Tebow fumbled in Denver territory which gave the Patriots a short field. It was part of a stretch in which Denver committed three turnovers in their own territory, which gave the Patriots' offense 17 easy points.

The fourth quarter has been billed as “Tebow Time,” but Tebow was relatively abysmal in the fourth quarter against the Patriots. On the first play from scrimmage in that quarter, Tebow nearly took a safety, but “miraculously” avoided Patriots DE Brandon Deaderick to throw the ball away. Tebow supporters will say that play showed his intangibles, but pundits would say that a true NFL QB would’ve recognized the dangerous situation instantly and thrown the ball away quicker.

Tebow’s final play in this game was a 29-yard sack on fourth down, which earned further jeers from the naysayers. The Patriots game was yet another lowlight, as it showed that both Tebow and the Broncos have a long way to go to become playoff contenders.

A Loss To Kansas City Would Be the Biggest Lowlight Of 2011

If the Broncos lose their season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs it will most definitely be the biggest lowlight of Tim Tebow’s 2011 season and his career to this point.

Denver would not only miss out on the playoffs, but it would also mark the third home loss for the Broncos with Tebow and raise further questions as to whether or not Tebow is the franchise’s answer at quarterback.