Broncos beat Steelers with 'Tebow 3:16'

The play was a crossing route, but it will perhaps come to be known as "Tebow 3:16."

In the playoffs, in the biggest game of his short NFL career, on the biggest stage, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow threw for a career-high 316 yards in a 29-23 overtime victory against the heavily favored Pittsburgh Steelers.

No pass was bigger than the 80-yarder to receiver Demaryius Thomas on the first offensive play of overtime.

"My assignment was to get on the corner and beat(the defender) inside, cutting across the middle,'' Thomas told Sports Illustrated. "When I saw the safety come up, I knew all I had to do was get a step on the corner and Tim would find me.''

If Thomas once was lost, he has now been found.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the play was the longest overtime touchdown in NFL history. Tebow may not turn water into wine -- he just wins, baby.

According to ESPN, five of Tebow’s 10 completions went for 30-plus yards Sunday against the No. 1 ranked pass defense in the NFL. Amid the near-religious fervor that had overtaken the crowd after the touchdown, Tebow levitated, er, jumped into the stands.

 “As I was running around the field I just wanted to thank my lord and savior,” he said in a post-game interview. “And then I jumped in the stands which is something I’ve never done, but I was pretty excited, then got back on one knee to thank the Lord again, and tried to celebrate with my teammates,” he said.

Social networking sites Twitter and Facebook were awash Sunday night with Tebow-related content. Google Trends had an assortment of "316", "Broncos" and "Tebow" searches trending on Monday.

"Praise the Lord!" Tebow said on Facebook early Monday. "Thanks to all my teammates, coaches and fans...This win was for Bronco Nation! We couldn't have done it without all of us working together as one. And yeah, Demaryius Thomas is a beast! GB²"

When the whole CBS NFL on-air crew starts Tebowng, you know the fanfare around No. 15 isn't going away. At least not this week.

"On defense, we felt like we let the team down," Steelers linebacker James Farrior said, according to ESPN. "We felt like we had a good grasp of what they were going to do to us or try to do us. They came out and made way more plays that we thought they were capable of making."

The Broncos (9-8)  play the New England Patriots (13-3) Saturday night.

Tebow finished dead last in the NFL with a 46.5 completion rate this season. On Sunday night, and all this week, the last shall be first.