Denver’s 51-48 win over the Dallas Cowboys in 2013 is ranked No. 10. It was a thrilling game (unless you love defense) that featured 414 passing yards and five total touchdowns from Peyton Manning and 506 passing yards and five touchdowns from Tony Romo. Talk about a shootout.
The Broncos’ 29-23 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round of the 2011 AFC playoffs is ranked No. 8. Denver quarterback Tim Tebow threw for 316 yards in that win and connected with wide receiver Demaryius Thomas for an 80-yard game-winning score on the first play of OT. That was one of the Broncos’ top plays of the 2010s.
Unfortunately, a third Denver game made NFL.com’s list. The team’s heartbreaking 38-35 double-overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional round of the 2012 AFC playoffs is ranked No. 2. It’s probably best for Broncos fans to just forget that game ever happened.
To view the NFL’s complete list of top games from the 2010s, click here.
On January 8, 2012, the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers were tied 23-23 in overtime of the Wild Card round of the AFC playoffs.
Denver led 20-6 in the second quarter before letting Pittsburgh fought back and sent the game into overtime. Fortunately for the Broncos, they won the coin toss and got the ball first to begin overtime.
Under the league’s new rules, scoring a touchdown on the opening drive would win the game. That’s exactly what Denver did.
Facing a first-and-10 on the first play of overtime, Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow connected with wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who was about 20 yards downfield when he caught the pass. Thomas then outran the Steelers’ defense 60 yards for a game-winning score.
It was a thrilling moment for fans in Denver and arguably the highlight of Tebow’s NFL career. Tebow finished the game with 316 yards and two TDs and Thomas ended the day with 204 receiving yards and a score.
Broncos Wire recently named Tebow’s game-winning touchdown pass to Thomas the second-best Broncos moment of the 2010s decade.
The 2010s are just about behind us. Here is a look back at the top moments of the decade for the Denver Broncos.
With the close of the Denver Broncos’ 2019 season, we also get set to close out an entire decade.
Between 2010 and 2019, the Broncos had some very up-and-down seasons, experiencing the ultimate success and some of the worst years in franchise history across the past decade.
Over the past 10 seasons, the Broncos had an 89-71 win-loss record, which is pretty good considering they closed the decade with three straight losing seasons.
But here, we’re only going to focus on the positive and give you a chance to relive the best moments from the past 10 years. With that, we present the top 10 Broncos moments from the past decade.
Honorable mention: Von Miller becomes sack king
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
For nearly 25 years, Simon Fletcher sat atop the team’s record book, finishing his playing career with 97.5 career sacks. It became clear years ago that as long as he stayed in Denver, Miller would break that record.
He accomplished the feat in December 2018 with a sack of Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns, taking Fletcher out of the top spot.
This likely would have made the top 10 if it didn’t occur during one of the worst Broncos seasons in franchise history, a fact that really seemed to take from the moment.
Which two teams will advance to the College Football Playoff final on Saturday?
Undefeated powerhouses Clemson and Ohio State will meet on Saturday night with a spot in the College Football Playoff final on the line, and while both teams boast explosive offenses that average more than 530 yards per game, Tim Tebow is expecting a defensive coordinator to make the difference in the Fiesta Bowl.
Tebow predicted that the Tigers will edge the Buckeyes in a tight game, and that Ohio State may struggle against a masterful game plan from Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables.
“I’m going to go LSU [in the Peach Bowl]. I think they’re going to be able to last a little bit longer. I think Oklahoma’s going to make plays, I think just Joe Burrow and company, these receivers will be too much at the end.
And then I’m going to go with Clemson in a close one. I think people don’t realize how good Brent Venables is as a defensive coordinator. I think he’s one of the best in the country. He was the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma and we [Florida] faced him in the national championship game. He had an amazing game plan that kind of threw us off and threw me off until the second half. Last year in the national championship, totally threw Tua [Tagovailoa] for a loop. I think he’s going to bring a lot of pressure, I think they’re going to play a lot of zero hole, they’re gonna bring their safeties up, they’re going to do a lot of unique things against Justin Fields and Ohio State. And I think it’s going to give them a very, very close win over a very good Ohio State team.”
Tim Tebow explained why he thinks Ohio State has something to prove.
A handful of people in sports media are picking No. 13 Michigan to upset No. 1 Ohio State in Saturday’s regular-season finale game, but Tim Tebow isn’t among them. (Neither is For The Win.)
The Buckeyes are 9.5-point favorites on the road in Ann Arbor with the nation’s top-ranked scoring offense and defense and have already clinched the Big Ten East. They’ll play for the conference championship whether or not they beat Michigan, but remaining undefeated could help them secure the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner who’s now an ESPN analyst, explained on First Take on Friday why, despite Michigan’s obvious improvements throughout the 2019 season, he doesn’t think the Wolverines can upset Ohio State at home.
While still giving Michigan the credit it’s earned so far, Tebow detailed why he doesn’t believe Jim Harbaugh’s team will win:
“I think it’s very helpful that they get them at home, but I don’t think it’s likely they’re going to get the win. I think Ohio State is playing the most complete football in the country right now. You have a Heisman Trophy candidate on offense and defense — Justin Fields, Chase Young. They’re deep, they’re athletic. And listen, they’re not going to go in there and take Michigan lightly.
“And I know Michigan’s getting better, and they’re improving, and they are a good football team. But Ohio State is on a mission this year. And Ryan Day is out to prove something: That he’s not just a follower of Urban Meyer, but he is actually the next great coach in college football. I think Ohio State really wants to prove something.”
After a challenging start to the season and an early 35-14 loss to Wisconsin, Michigan seems to have finally found its groove. Since losing to Penn State in mid-October, the Wolverines are on a four-game win streak of all blowouts. But the Buckeyes have only looked beatable for basically one quarter of the whole season, and they still topped the Nittany Lions last week, 28-17. They also have a 73.9 percent chance to beat Michigan, according to ESPN’s FPI.
In this rivalry matchup, Ohio State has won 14 of the last 15 games against Michigan, including seven consecutively, which means Harbaugh is 0-4 against the Buckeyes as the head coach.
Stephen A. Smith asked Tebow what he thinks of Harbaugh’s first five seasons coaching the Wolverines with his record against Ohio State in mind. Tebow said:
“I don’t want to knock Coach Harbaugh. It’s not like he’s done a terrible job. I would say it’s been good, but it’s just been good. Hasn’t been really good, hasn’t been great. There’s never been a year where you thought this Michigan team is contending for a true championship, meaning a national championship. And at Michigan, I think that’s what you’ve got to compete for.
“I don’t think he should lose his job. I think he should be there, but you can’t say anything more than that. It’s been good. It’s been fine.”
The Ohio State-Michigan game kicks off Saturday at noon ET on FOX.
Former Denver quarterback Tim Tebow had to say farewell to his Rhodesian Ridgeback, Bronco.
Tim Tebow is one of the best people out there. The former Heisman winner and current New York Mets farmhand moves up another few notches in the eyes of animal lovers as he posted a bittersweet video of him saying goodbye to his dog, Bronco.
According to ET, Tebow said he had to put Bronco to sleep on Wednesday, but did not detail why. He shared multiple photos as a tribute to his “son,” raised from a pup.
“One of the toughest goodbyes. Wanted to make a special tribute to the sweetest boy ever — thank you for all the joy you brought and all the memories,” Tebow wrote. “… If you had the pleasure of meeting Bronco, one of the best dogs ever.”
Im so thankful and humbled by everyone’s support, prayers and love. I was able to lay Bronco to rest in a really special place. Thank you all for so much encouragement. I love you Bronco, thanks for being the sweetest boy pic.twitter.com/gG5yNLTFFy
After Tebow was selected by Denver with the 25th pick in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft, he received a gift: a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, who he named Bronco.
“It made sense when I just got drafted by the Broncos,” Tebow said in a 2018 interview with AOL.com. “We’ve always liked the name, we always liked that truck, so we talked about it and we were like, yeah, that’s really cool.”
Im so thankful and humbled by everyone’s support, prayers and love. I was able to lay Bronco to rest in a really special place. Thank you all for so much encouragement. I love you Bronco, thanks for being the sweetest boy
May Tebow and Bronco’s friends and family find solace in these grief-stricken times in the Rainbow Bridge poem.
