Fans of Tim Tebow have been praying hoping he’d be able to continue his NFL career. The New England Patriots gave him that chance this season, and Thursday night, he showed them he deserved a spot at quarterback (somewhere) behind Tom Brady.
After not setting foot on the field at the Patriots’ 40-9 loss against the Lions last week, Tebow got a chance to show his skills Thursday night against the New York Giants. The same skills that earned him a Heisman trophy, two BCS championships with the Florida Gators, helped the Denver Broncos win their first AFC title, and an overtime win against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs in 2005.
With 14:56 left in the third quarter, coach Bill Belichick put the unconventional QB in the game. For Tebow’s first drive, he threw four passes for a gain of 27 yards, but problems with the line caused the quarterback to be sacked twice.
During his second drive, with 7:08 left in the third quarter, Tebow had one good pass, and was sacked twice. No yards were gained.
His third drive, coming with 4:23 left in the third quarter, the QB made a run for the first down himself. With a gain of 6 yards after a couple passes, at 3rd and 4 he was stopped short of a first down.
With no touchdown passes in the third quarter, Tebow came out in the fourth, showing everyone that the last quarter belongs to him, and it seems it always has.
With 14:13 left in the fourth quarter, Tebow begins his fourth drive. After some failed passes, the QB throws a 15 yard pass to wide receiver Quentin Sims for a 52-yard touchdown. The classic Tebow touchdown returns.
For his next three drives, Tebow is unable to make any scoring plays.
Then, with 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter, instead of just taking a knee at the 9-yard line, Tebow throws to Sims again, who runs it in for a touchdown.
The Patriots beat the Giants 28 – 20.
But are these two touchdowns and a stat of 91 yards enough for the Patriots to keep Tebow on the team? Teams have to make some cuts to have a regular-season roster of 53 by 6 p.m. EDT Saturday.
The openly Christian athlete doesn’t seem to be too concerned with whether he’ll make the final cut or not. Until that time, the QB said he’ll, ”Go to sleep when I get home, wake up, come work out, watch the film. See what I did good, see what I did bad, try to learn from it and get better.”
Belichick didn’t have too much to say about whether Tebow will still be a member of the team come 6:00 Saturday. During his press conference, Belichick said, ”Whatever we do will be whatever we think is in the best interest of this football team, the 2013 team, whatever that is at any position.”
Tebow, who continues to keep a positive attitude no matter what the media says about him, has been doing his best to learn the Patriots way of playing football. Said Tebow, ”I think I’ve improved in a lot of ways. One, learning this offense. Two, understanding more decision making. Getting the rhythm, understanding all the guys that I’m playing with.”
So, while everyone waits to see if Tebow will still be a Patriot, enjoy his 15 yard pass to Sims for a 52-yard touchdown. Or, not. Your choice.
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