Tebow Time arrives in Denver but Broncos fall short in rally

Down 23-10 at halftime to the San Diego Chargers, change was needed to spark the Broncos.

Insert Tim Tebow, who relieved an ineffective Kyle Orton to cheers and chants from the Broncos crowd.

Orton, went 6 of 13 for a dismal 34 passing yards and one interception in the first half.

Things in the second half started slowly in Tebow Time.

The Broncos punted on their first three possessions under Tebow before the former Florida star scored on a 12-yard run as Orton clapped from the sideline. Willis McGahee's 2-point conversion cut San Diego's lead to 26-18 with 6½ minutes left.

"He came and gave us a spark," McGahee said. "That's Tim Tebow. Everybody has been cheering for him for the longest. Now he finally got in and moved the ball for us."

Under Tebow's tutelage, the Broncos looked re-energized and almost upset the Chargers in losing 29-24.

Tebow ran for a touchdown and threw for another after replacing Orton, to start the third quarter and had one final shot for the win before his pass fell incomplete in the end zone on the final play.

"Tim Tebow sparked the team today. (But) we haven't had a chance to watch the tape, we haven't had a chance to watch the film, we haven't had a chance to visit as a staff," Coach John Fox said. "So, I think at this point -- we have a bye week -- we do need to improve offensively, and it will all be up for discussion."

The game wasn't as close on paper though as the Broncos were out-gained 418 yards to 205 yards by the Chargers.

The Chargers inconsistencies in the redzone however, almost cost them the victory.

The team was 1-5 in the redzone and had to rely on the leg of kicker Nick Novak.

Novak was a perfect 5-for-5 in field goal attempts for the day.

Denver could easily be 4-1 at this point but sit 1-4 going into the bye week.

The Broncos offense definitely needs to improve otherwise this will be a long season.

One thing is for certain though, after Tebows' inspirational performance in rallying the team, you would be stupid to not stick with him as your starting quarterback.