The 3:16 game

On January 8, 2012, The Denver Broncos hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first round of the NFL playoffs.

Road to the playoffs

Denver reached the playoffs after going 8-8 during the regular season. They lost their last 3 games, but clinched when the Oakland Raiders also lost their week 17 match.

Details

Denver beat Pittsburgh 29-23 in overtime. Tim Tebow threw for a career high 316 yards and two touchdowns, including an 80-yard TD to Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime.[1] Tebow completed 10 of 21 passes in the contest, setting an NFL record for yards per completion in a playoff game at 31.6. Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 289 yards, completing 22 of 40 passes including one touchdown and one interception.[2]

Reference to 3:16

Denver lost their last 3 games, finishing 8-8 (16) leading up to the 3:16 game. After the game media sources noted Tebow's passing yards (316) and yards per completion (31.6) evoked the Bible's John 3:16.The only interception of the game was thrown by Ben Roethlisberger on 3rd down and 16. Denver's time of possession was 31 minutes 6 second.[3] The Nielsen ratings for the game also peaked at 31.6. John 3:16 was the top search item on Google the next morning.[4][5]

Tebow's connection to 3:16 started during his college football career exactly three years prior, to the day. Tebow frequently wore references to biblical verses on his eye black.[6] In the 2009 BCS Championship Game, he wore John 3:16 on his eye black; the verse was the highest-ranked Google search term over the next 24 hours, generating over 90 million searches.[7] In 2010 a new rule for the next NCAA football season banned messages on eye paint. This rule was dubbed "The Tebow Rule" by media because it would have affected him.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Tebow rules in OT, too: Broncos 29, Steelers 23". Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  2. ↑ "Watch Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos [01/08/2012] - NFL.com". www.nfl.com. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  3. ↑ "National Football League Game Summary" (PDF). www.nfl.com. NFL. Sunday, 1/8/2012. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ↑ Levy, Glen. "Tim Tebow's 316 Passing Yards Evokes Biblical Number". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  5. ↑ "Tebow Time: The three 3:16 references, boffo TV ratings and Lady Gaga love". Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  6. ↑ Jonsson, Patrik (2010-02-03). "Top 5 Tim Tebow eye black biblical verses". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  7. ↑ Thamel, Pete (2009-01-11). "Tebow Returning to Florida for Final Year". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  8. ↑ "NCAA trying to ban messages on eye black under the 'Tebow Rule'". Retrieved 2016-08-06.
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