Saturday night, sat on the bench, a refuge shelter shoulders as Tom Brady led another scoring drive with the Patriots by 42-7, and the crowd started a joke: "Te-Te-Te-bow bow bow!"
Brady threw a record six touchdowns, a record five in the first half to put the Patriots in the game of the AFC Championship with a 45-10 victory.
"We arrived and began quickly," said Brady. "It was a great victory for us."
The Patriots, winners of nine straight games, the host of today's match winner between the Ravens and Texans with an opportunity to reach their fifth Super Bowl in 11 seasons.
And thus ended one of the lines of the most exciting season in history - one that caught the attention of the nation and started when Denver was 1-4 and Tebow holder. The only time the third quarterback won six in a row (before losing to New England on December 18) to help the Broncos win the AFC West and beat the Steelers in the wild card game last week.
But on Saturday, was 9-of-26 for 136 yards and had 13 yards on five carries. He was also sacked five times.
"We go out and play hard and good things happened," New England defensive tackle Vince Wilford said. "A great team win"
In some ways the result of restoring the natural order of the NFL. Brady is the quarterback pre-eminent of his generation. But last week, was driven to an unusual place for him - the shadow of another person. Has not inspired anyone to their knees in prayer, or have lyrics composers write in their honor.
But Brady's night of 26-34 for 363 yards, showed he has the accuracy that has helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls. (Even with the left cleared 2:56, 48 yards on third down.)
The first sign that the magic of Tebow would end came in a few minutes from kickoff. The Patriots needed only five plays, including a 43-yard run by former Florida tight end Aaron Hernandez of 7-yard touchdown to Wes Welker, to take a 7-0 lead. In the Broncos game session, Tebow was sacked and the ball was stripped.
At halftime, there was little doubt about the outcome.
Brady threw three touchdown passes to tight end Rob Gronkowski as the Patriots took a 35-7 lead.
"We were playing football complementary," Gronkowski said. "It was unbelievable."
Meanwhile, Tebow difficulty moving the Broncos, completing only three of his 10 passes for 28 yards. He was stripped of the ball in the sixth game of Denver, the establishment of a second Gronkowski touchdown.
Fourth Brady touchdown pass, 61 yards to Deion Branch for the band at the end of the first half, set a record for the Patriots playoff game. His sixth touchdown, a 17-yard Hernandez early in the third, tying the record shared by Steve Young (Super Bowl XXIX in January 1995) and Daryle Lamonica (December 1969).
At that point, Tebow still had only completed three passes for 28 yards.
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