DENVER — Tim Tebow finally flexed his left arm and found one more fantastic finish up his sleeve.
After Ben Roethlisberger rallied the Pittsburgh Steelers from a two- touchdown deficit, the Denver Broncos won the overtime coin toss, and on first down, Tebow tucked the ball in Willis McGahee’s belly like he’d done all afternoon.
The linebackers and safety Troy Polamalu all bit on the play-action fake, and Tebow hit wide receiver Demaryius Thomas for an electrifying 80- yard touchdown that stunned the Steelers 29-23 in the AFC wild-card game Sunday.
In 11 seconds — the shortest overtime in NFL history — Tebow showed he could be a conventional QB. It was also the longest overtime touchdown in playoff history.
The Broncos (9-8) will face the top-seeded New England Patriots ( 13- 3) on Saturday night.
Tebow threw for a seasonhigh 316 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 50 yards and another score while slicing up the league’s top defense..
As Thomas sped down Denver’s sideline, several teammates and coaches were tagging along and mobbed him in the end zone. Elway thrust his hands into the air like he used to when he was the one engineering all these Broncos comebacks.
The Steelers ( 12- 5) lost despite a gimpy Roethlisberger rallying injury-depleted Pittsburgh from a two-touchdown halftime deficit with 10 points in the final 10 minutes.
He also drove the Steelers into Broncos territory in the final minute, but three sacks and a fumble kept them from getting in field goal range, and Roethlisberger never got to touch the ball in overtime.
Thomas also had receptions of 51 and 58 yards to set up second-quarter touchdowns.
Roethlisberger was 22 for 40 for 289 yards with one TD, one interception and five sacks. Tebow wasn’t picked off or sacked by the league’s top defense.
The Broncos snapped a three-game losing streak that had many wondering if Tebow’s time was up and if Denver.
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