Tebow Is Not Leading The Broncos

All this talk about Tebow “leading” the Broncos to a 5-1 record since taking over as the starter got me to thinking about another QB who “led” a team to a Super Bowl win, yet was never perceived as the reason behind their wins.

Trent Dilfer.

Dilfer was the Ravens’ QB in 2000 when they won the Super Bowl. But, the focus (and reason for their wins) was placed squarely on the defense. And rightfully so in many respects. They had a great defense that year. At one point during the season, the offense went five games without scoring a TD, yet they survived that drought and made the playoffs.

Dilfer was largely perceived as a “manager” of the game. He didn’t play spectacularly, he limited his turnovers and mistakes and did enough to win. But, did anyone ever say he LED them to their wins that year? No. As a matter of fact, the Ravens let him go after that season in hopes of upgrading the QB position (they brought in Elvis Grbac, which turned out to be a failure of an acquisition).

Dilfer’s numbers that year were as follows:

59.3% completions
6.6 avg yards per pass
76.6 rating

Tebow’s numbers this year:

45.5% completions
6.0 avg yards per pass
80.5 rating

Along with that, look at what the Denver defense has done over the past six games (points allowed in bold):

Dolphins W 18-15
Lions L 10-45
Raiders W 38-24
Chiefs W 17-10
Jets W 17-13
Chargers W 16-13

They allowed an average of 12.75 points in 4 of those 6 games. To say the defense has been on a roll would be an understatement. The Broncos are only averaging 19 points a game during this stretch (15.6 if you remove the 38 point outburst vs the Raiders).

Given all that, it’s hard to say Tebow is “leading” the Broncos to anything. If anything, they’re winning in SPITE of him. Or, at best, he’s not losing games.

Time, and opposing defenses, will eventually catch up with the Broncos (and given their offensive production, I'd argue they already have). This winning streak will not continue. But, even if it does go on a little longer, it won’t be because of Tebow “leading” them. It will be because of the Broncos’ defense.

Just like the Ravens’ defense led them.