DENVER -- Tim Tebow, the worst quarterback statistically in the league, topped the best game of his short NFL career by throwing an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime as the Denver Broncos shocked the Steelers 29-23 in their playoff game tonight.

The Steelers came from 14 points down to forge a 23-23 tie and send the playoff game into overtime, but the Broncos won the coin flip and elected to receive.

Tebow dropped back from his 20 and fired over the middle to Demaryius Thomas. He caught the ball at the Denver 38, stiff-armed cornerback Ike Taylor at the 45 and ran the rest of the way to the end zone, beating the beleagured Taylor all the way.

Denver, an 8-point underdog, advances to a Saturday night playoff at the New England Patriots.

The Steelers mounted a final drive in regulation to try to win it from their 24 with 1:37 left. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked on the first play, but then completed consecutive passes of 17 to Antonio Brown and 18 to Emmanuel Sanders, both outstanding catches.

However, Roethlisberger was sacked again, losing 11 on a stripped ball by end Elvis Dumervil back to the Steelers 44, essentially ended that threat and sending the game into overtime.

The Steelers tied the game with 3:48 to go, 23-23, when Ben Roethlisberger scrambled away from pressure and threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery, who leaped over a linebacker to catch it in the middle of the end zone.

It wiped out a Denver lead that had reached 20-6 at the half, thanks to a second-quarter explosion of points by the unlikliest of quarterbacks, Tim Tebow.

Tebow, told by Hall of Famer John Elway the past week to just "pull the trigger" on his passes, did so on the Steelers in the second quarter. He completed 5 of 9 passes in the second quarter for 185 yards as the Broncos wiped out a 6-0 Steelers first-quarter lead.

Tebow, the worst passing quarterback in the league statistically, completed passes of 51, 58, 40 and 30 yards in the second quarter against not only the No. 1 defense in the NFL but the league's top pass defense.