Tim Tebow’s performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2011-12 NFL playoffs still has baffled as to how he pulled it off.

To say that Tim Tebow is a divisive character when it comes to the NFL would be something of an understatement to say the very least. Whether it be because of his style of play or how he conducts himself off the field with his faith and belief, you’d be hard pushed to find someone who watches the game who doesn’t have an opinion on him.

Coming into the NFL, he put up numbers in college that made him arguably the greatest player ever to play the game at that level, throwing for 9,286 passing yards which turned into 88 touchdowns whilst also dominating on the ground as well with 2,947 rushing yards and 57 touchdowns during his years with the Florida Gators, making them a powerhouse in the sport along the way.

However, the numbers across his career show that just because you can be a star in college, doesn’t mean that you’re going to be an instant success in the NFL.

‘Tebowmania’ takes centre stage

He was selected with the 25th pick overall by the Denver Broncos, but served the majority of his first year as a backup, and it wasn’t until partway through his second year that we saw the birth of ‘Tebowmania’ in which he helped the team win 7 of a stretch of 8 games that helped guide them through the playoffs.

His numbers from that season though were hardly anything to write home about, as he threw for just 1,729 yards all season, and threw 12 touchdowns compared to 6 interceptions, completing just 45.6% of his throws, including one game against the Kansas City Chiefs where they won despite him completing just 2 of his 8 passes.

On top of that, he posted 660 rushing yards to go along with 6 touchdowns, just enough for the Broncos defense and kicker Matt Prater helping to bail him out.

However, there was one game in which he was able to redeem himself somewhat, that came in the playoffs when the Broncos hosted the Steelers.

Stepping up when it mattered

Whilst certainly not perfect, he performed a lot better in the opening round of the playoffs, completing 10 of 21 passes and throwing for 316 yards which racked up 2 touchdowns whilst not throwing an interception.

The game though is always remembered for the way it ended, when on the first play of overtime, a pass to Demaryius Thomas saw him race towards the endzone to win the game in walk-off fashion and send them through to the next round: 

It would turn out to be the pinnacle of his NFL career, as that offseason the Broncos acquired Peyton Manning and despite trying to resurrect his time with the New York Jets he would ultimately never live up to the hype that came from his college days. 

But at least he’ll always have that moment to remember it by.