Through the Denver Broncos' first two drives on Sunday, it seemed like they were setting themselves up for another brutal day in the office. Safety Rahim Moore sustained a concussion on the game's first play, taking away one of Denver's key young players, and the offense followed that up by going three-and-out on its first two possessions.
With the Raiders scoring on a 48-yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski splitting those two failed Denver drives, it seemed like the Raiders were on their way to treating the home fans with a nice, healthy victory over the struggling Broncos.
But following a strong defensive possession on Oakland's third drive, Tim Tebow went to work... and actually got things done. After completing a short pass to Daniel Fells to set up second down, Tebow found an opening in the defense and really took off:
It's precisely one of the plays that could make Tebow so dangerous as a quarterback. After faking a hand-off to running back Willis McGahee, essentially misdirecting the entire Oakland defense, Tebow takes the other (wide open) side of the field to dash for 32 yards, putting the Broncos at Oakland's 27-yard line.
And Tebow wasn't done yet, either. After a couple of ineffective plays left the Broncos with a 3rd-and-10 at Oakland's 27, Tebow connected with wide receiver Eric Decker on a 27-yard touchdown pass, putting Denver ahead 7-3. Here's video of that pass:
Tebow doesn't do anything particularly brilliant here, but just being able to complete a solid 30-yard pass over the middle of the field has to warm the hearts of at least a few Broncos fans. His form still looks bad even while succeeding, but if Tebow can begin to complete more passes like that one, he may actually be able to hang on to the job for a bit.
For more on Sunday's game, check out Mile High Report, SB Nation's Denver Broncos blog, and Silver And Black Pride, SB Nation's Oakland Raiders blog. For more on the NFL, check out SB Nation's NFL page.