5 plays that continue to haunt Steelers fans to this day

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Demaryius Thomas #88 of the Denver Broncos beats Ike Taylor #24 and Troy Polamalu #43 of the Pittsburgh Steelers(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

January 8, 2012, AFC Wild Card game: Pittsburgh 23 Denver 29

In the 2010 season, Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers to their third Superbowl appearance since 2005. They met the Green Bay Packers. However, they lost to the Packers 31-25. Despite the loss in 2011, The Steelers had their 2nd consecutive 12-4 season. The Ravens had the same record and because the Ravens held the tiebreaker, the Steelers had to enter the playoffs as the wild card.

Not having the luxury of the playoff bye week, they had to travel to Denver who had home field because they won the AFC West with an 8-8 record. The AFC West had a relatively weak division that season. Actually, three teams in the AFC West tied for 8-8 the Broncos had the tiebreaker, though. So it’s of little surprise Steeler fans felt confident they would prevail. If an 8-8 record was not enough, the Broncos’ starting quarterback was none other than Tim Tebow, only in his second year, and not highly regarded as a great quarterback by any stretch of the imagination. By the time the 2011 regular season had ended, Tebow had an unimpressive 8-6 record over the 2010 and 2011 season. He then left the Broncos and went to the Jets the following year, in which he only played two games in his final year in the NFL.

In the first quarter, the Steelers jumped out to a 6-0 lead thanks to two Shaun Suisham field goals. The Broncos then scored two touchdowns and a field goal going into the half with a 20-6 lead. Looking grim, the Steelers stepped up. Thanks to two Denver punts, one stalled drive that only produced three points and a Willis McGahee fumble, the Steelers tied the game at 23, thus forcing overtime.

Then Tebow time happened. In overtime, the Steelers lost the coin toss, and the Broncos got the ball to start overtime. On the first play in overtime, Tebow unleashed an 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas for the touchdown. Tebow crushed the Steelers hopes of a second straight Superbowl appearance and the chance to avenge the loss to the packer. Perhaps arguably, it should be in the top five as it ranks as one of the most painful losses in recent history if, for any other reason, it came at the arm of arguably one of the worst quarterbacks ever in the NFL, Tim Tebow.