NFL 2011 Week 16 - Bills Intercept Tebow Four Times, Crush Broncos

Bills Intercept Tebow Four Times, Crush Broncos
Charles Roberts

Orchard Park, NY

The Buffalo Bills returned back-to-back Tim Tebow passes for touchdowns midway through the fourth quarter, solidifying a 40-14 victory Saturday over the visiting Denver Broncos.

Bills safety Jairus Byrd intercepted a pass intended for Eric Decker, taking it the remaining 37 yards. The very next play on offense for the Broncos, Chris Kelsay got a piece of Tebow's arm while he wound up to throw, gift-wrapping a 17-yard pick-six for Spencer Johnson.

The win ends a seven-game losing streak for the Bills (6-9). The Broncos (8-7) are now losers of two straight, but can still clinch a playoff berth with a victory next week over the Kansas City Chiefs.

"It's still frustrating, but something my mom taught me a long time ago is give the praise to the lord and give your disappointments to the lord," said Tebow, who threw four interceptions - more than he's thrown at any level.

"That's the number one way I can deal with it because, you know what, tomorrow I still get to celebrate my savior's birth and ultimately, I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds my future. And that is something that gives me a lot of peace and a lot of comfort when there might be a lot of turbulence around me."

Tebow, who completed 13 of 30 passes for 185 yards, scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown to cap off the Broncos' first possession.

The Bills responded with 17 unanswered points.

Dave Rayner missed his first two field-goal attempts, but connected on his third to put the Bills on the board with 6:10 remaining in the first half. Less than two minutes later, Leodis McKelvin returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown.

Running back C.J. Spiller scored from four yards out, 23 seconds before halftime.

Spiller finished the contest with 16 carries for a career-best 111 yards. It also marked the first time he's topped 100 yards as a pro.

"For him, it's about the opportunity," said Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick of Spiller. "Since he's had the opportunity since Fred [Jackson] went down, he's done a really good job and unfortunately in some of those games, we've gotten behind where he hasn't had the touches he could have gotten."

The Broncos pulled within three when Tebow hit Daniel Fells for a 17-yard touchdown to open the second half, but that's as close as they would get.

The Christmas Eve crowd of 45,112 at Ralph Wilson Stadium is the smallest gathering since Dec. 9, 2001, when the Bills played host to the Carolina Panthers before 44,554.