Tim Tebow keys Broncos victory on Gator Day

Inefficient for three-and-a-half quarters on Sunday in South Florida, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow engineered two touchdowns drives in just over five minutes to tie the Miami Dolphins 15-15 and force an overtime that saw Denver complete an improbable comeback 18-15 victory.

Miami scored the first 15 points of the contest and led late in the fourth quarter before punting the ball away with just over five minutes left in the game.

Though Tebow struggled mightily for most of the game save a few dynamic runs, he engineered an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that cut the Broncos’ deficit nearly in half with over two minutes remaining.

Denver recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, and Tebow once again led his team on a 10-play, 56-yard drive that ended in his second-straight passing touchdown and a two-point conversion that he ran in on a quarterback draw.

Tebow combined to go 9/13 for 121 yards on those two drives for and also ran the ball twice for nine yards not counting his game-tying conversion. He finished 13/27 for 161 yards with eight carries for 65 yards and a quarterback rating of 91.7.

All of this occurred as the Dolphins hosted Gator Day at the stadium, a special celebration that honored the 2008 national championship team at halftime of the game. Former Florida head coach Urban Meyer was in attendance and spoke during the celebration, calling his team “one of the greatest in college football history.”

The occasion also featured a performance from the Pride of the Sunshine marching band and an appearance by more than two dozen former players. Miami handed the University of Florida a $25,000 check for their scholarship fund, and the band even played the Dolphins’ fight song as halftime was coming to a close.

Meyer was on Denver’s sideline before the game and stood on Miami’s sideline for the duration of the game, including in the waning minutes of the contest.

Following the contest, Tebow, Meyer, Dolphins center Mike Pouncey and the other former UF players in attendance had the opportunity to meet briefly on the field and exchange pleasantries (picture).

Tebow and the Gators got a mixed reception throughout the course of the afternoon. He was booed early by the crowd but chants of “Tebow, Tebow” were audible both late in the fourth quarter and at the end of the game. Meyer and the former Florida players were booed heavily during the halftime celebration, which lasted approximately six minutes.

While the crowd was obviously made up of mostly Dolphins fans, thousands of Tebow jerseys could be spotted in the stands. There were, of course, other fans wearing non-Tebow Broncos jerseys and others donning non-Tebow Gators jerseys.

[EXPAND Click to expand for some photos and post-game quotes]Some of the players in attendance (in alphabetical order):
Markihe Anderson, Brandon Antwine, Tate Casey, Lorenzo Edwards, Javier Estopinan, Brandon Hicks, A.J. Jones, Bobby Kane, Kestahn Moore, Kyle Newell, Jonathan Phillips, Butch Rowley, Terron Sanders, Ryan Stamper

Thanks to Buffalo Bills wide receiver David Nelson for sending along the photos.

POST-GAME QUOTES

Tebow: “You can’t lose confidence in yourself, or you’ve lost already. When you get knocked down, you’ve got to keep getting back up.”

Pouncey: “It’s tough to say, but man, Timmy did a great job. Hopefully the critics will get off him about what he can’t do and talk about the things that he can do, and that’s figure out a way to win the game, no matter what.”[/EXPAND]