Denver Bronco’s quarterback Tim Tebow has also taught us within his short NFL career start not to bet against him on Sunday. The consequence you ask? Well he was 7-4 in the regular season as a starter after he took over in week 5 at home against the Chargers. The Broncos were sitting on a dismal 1-4 before Tebow started a full game. They lost their final three games but, with a bit of help from Oakland, the Broncos won the AFC West at 8-8. All bets were on (the 12-4 Steelers that is).

Vegas bets had the Steelers by 9 points. Not surprising if you side with a two-time Super Bowl champion over an 11-game starting quarterback who throws up numbers like 69, 60, and a career high 236 yards. Roethlisberger usually has 236 yards by halftime. Also to the favor of Vegas odds, the defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers ranked number one on defense in points, yards, passing yards, and eighth in rushing yards.

After a long week of talk about a Tebow collapse the game started. The number one ranked defense looked frustrated and confused. Pittsburgh couldn’t figure out with success whether to blitz or send three. With a quarterback like Tebow the offensive options are endless. I even saw moments of some Brady passes, as well as a few Jamarcus Russell passes. Regardless, the men of Mile High were making big plays in the biggest game of Tebow’s career. A banged up Pittsburgh team could barely keep 11 men on the field while Roethlisberger favored his ankle and Coach Tomlin’s eyeballs were about pop out of his head.

But Big Ben wasn’t going out without a dramatic near 4th quarter comeback as he has had over the years. With a chance to drive it down the field with a minute left the line couldn’t hold and Ben was sacked twice. Fourth down and forever, but every football fan knows you cannot beat Tebow on a hail mary.

Overtime commenced, or at least I think it did. All I saw was a coin flip, a pissed-off looking Steelers team, a Steelers kickoff, and eleven seconds later Tebow praising God. Oh, I should mention the ridiculous stiff arm Demaryius Thomas gave during his 80-yard catch and dash to the end zone. Broncos won? There goes Tomlin’s eyeballs.

Tebow is pushing the limits of unconventional quarterback victories in the NFL and I love it. Although his first playoff game was arguably the most well-rounded game the Denver Broncos have played all year with a notable career high 316 yards for Tebow [insert Bible reference here].

Tebow, as unconventional as he plays, is finding ways week after week and now into the postseason to win. NFL analysts continue to raise questions and doubts, and some even had a segment to point out how banged up the Pittsburgh team was on Sunday. Broncos win by default? I think not. Play makers did what they had to do, and I believe the Steelers were out-coached.

Biggest play of the game: Tebow’s slant pass to Thomas for an 80-yard touchdown in overtime. What was Ike Taylor doing on defense? Well the same thing the Steelers had been struggling to find out all game. Pass or run? Broncos had rushed 21 of 22 times on 1st and 10. They passed on 1st and 10 in overtime. Great call Mike McCoy. Great throw Tim Tebow. GREAT route and catch Demaryius Thomas.

“People say he can’t throw the ball, he can’t do this. He finds a way to win.”- Roethlisberger on Tebow.

This Sunday the Broncos roll into Foxborough to take on the top seed in the AFC. The Patriots won 41-23 against the Broncos in week 15, which was the first game of the three game losing streak for Tebow and company. With a healthy Brady, but the worst ranked defense in the league, and a head coach who has already wrote Tebow a check with his mouth, the Patriots look to bring Tebow “back down to Earth.”

The Mavs must contain “the bigs.” Tyson Chandler must play aggressively against Andrew Bynum while staying out of foul trouble, easier said than done against the young 7’1’’ center. This game may come down to rebounds, which can be difficult for the smaller Mavericks team. The Mavs need Jason Terry’s offense this series with his streaky shooting 15-foot jumpers and 3-pointers. Getting to the basket against the Lakers is difficult, but the Mavs need to set the aggressive tone early, otherwise they might get picked apart with LA’s fast break points and points off turnovers.

The Lakers need to contain Dirk Nowitzki as much as Dirk Nowitzki can be contained. Pau Gasol had difficulties with Carl Landry in the first round, but his plate only gets fuller. Dirk can shoot from anywhere on the court, and Pau must find a balance in defending the 2007 MVP while finding an offensive rhythm on the other end. The Lakers must remain dominate in the paint- this will expose the Mavs’ small defenders and leave them out to dry.
Both teams finished 57-25 in the regular season, home wins and road wins almost identical. Perhaps determination will win the series. The ticket to the NBA Finals remains favorable when facing the Thunder or Grizzlies, both unproven teams in the playoffs. Nowitzki’s window is closing for a title. Kobe Bryant is facing speculation that his game is declining. Both future hall-of-famers have their pride at stake in this series.

It is important to note the Mavs hold the second longest playoff appearance streak (11 seasons) behind the Spurs’ 14 seasons. The difference is the Spurs have 4 titles, the Mavs have zero. Are the Mavericks due for a title? Or will the Black Mamba destroy a dream as he has to so many Western Conference teams this decade?

When announcing the postponement, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said:

“Due to public safety concerns in light of today’s snow emergency in Philadelphia, tonight’s Vikings-Eagles game has been postponed. Because of the uncertainty of the extent of tonight’s storm and its aftermath, the game will be played on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. This will allow sufficient time to ensure that roads, parking lots and the stadium are fully cleared. The National Weather Service states that a winter storm warning in Philadelphia remains in effect until 1 pm on Monday.”

Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter declared a snow emergency as of 2 p.m. Now the Vikings are trying to decide if they’re going to go back to Minnesota to try and avoid the Blizzard or stay in Philadelphia until Tuesday nights game.

After David Buehler missed this kick, it gave the Cardinals a chance to go down field and win with a field goal. And that’s exactly what happened when Jay Feely’s 48-yard field goal inched over the crossbar with 5 seconds to go, putting the Cardinals up 27-26. I’m sure all the Cowboy fans are wanting the Cowboys to cut Buehler and get a real kicker with not only power, but accuracy as well. All season long Buehler has been inconsistent and missed quite a few kicks that he should of made. After the game, Kitna said he had a “strained left oblique.”

“We tried to do what we could to block the pain,” he added. “We were hoping it was a hip pointer but it’s more than that.”

He was uncertain if he would be able to play in Dallas’ season finale at Philadelphia, but really you might as well just give the starting job to McGee for the final game. Why not let him start & finish (if he survives) his first NFL game against the Eagles, he deserves it.

Owens decided to have knee surgery Monday, ending his revival season in Cincinnati. The 37-year-old receiver tore cartilage in his left knee two weeks ago, but kept playing. He aggravated the injury while making a cut on the opening series of the 19-17 win Sunday against Cleveland, forcing him to hobble off the field.

Owens signed a one-year deal with a $2 million base salary at the start of training camp, when the Bengals were one of the few teams interested. He proved he could still play, leading the team with 72 catches for 983 yards and nine touchdowns.

He ranked among the NFL’s top six receivers in yards and catches before the game against Cleveland. He has said that he hopes to play for two or three more years.

Source: ESPN.com

The rookie punted all right, straight to Jackson, who fumbled the ball before taking off on one of the greatest plays in NFL history — a breathtaking 65-yard punt return for the winning touchdown on the final play of the game.

The Eagles scored 28 points in the final 7:18 and beat the New York Giants 38-31 at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday, a bitter loss that revived memories of “The Miracle at the Meadowlands” in 1978.

Call this one “The Miracle at the New Meadowlands.”

“I was thinking to myself like ‘they’re not going to kick it to me,’ ” Jackson said. “I was thinking he was going to kick it out of bounds. But it got to me. From there, I just used my instincts and my speed to get into the end zone.”

The electrifying finish left the Eagles (10-4) alone in first place in the NFC East, one game ahead of the deflated Giants (9-5).

And it took the play of the season to make it happen.

“I’ve never been around anything like this in my life,” Coughlin said. “It’s about as empty as you get to feel in this business, right there.”

The stunning turn of events brought back thoughts of Joe Pisarcik. In 1978, the Giants quarterback botched a handoff at the end of the game, allowing the Eagles’ Herm Edwards to scoop up the loose ball and run in for the winning points.

This time, the showstopper was Jackson!

“Somebody told me that coach Coughlin ran on the field and tried to get his kicker because he was just so pissed that his kicker punted the ball to me,” said Jackson, who was limited in practice this week with a foot injury. “That just shows how mad he was at that punter.”