It’s been nearly 15 years – Tim Tebow to finally return to Empower Field on Sunday
Sep 17, 2026, 3:26 PM | Updated: Sep 18, 2026, 2:30 pm
Fourteen years, eight months and nine days. That’s how long it’s been since Tim Tebow stepped on the field at what is now Empower Field at Mile High, and this Sunday, he’s finally coming back.
The Broncos announced Thursday that Tebow will serve as the team’s honorary Alumni Flag planter ahead of Sunday’s Week 2 home opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars at 2:05 p.m. It will be Tebow’s first time on the Empower Field turf since January 8, 2012, the night that still gives every Broncos fan chills.
You remember what happened. Fourth quarter. Steelers rally from two touchdowns down to tie it at 23. Overtime. Denver wins the coin toss. First play. Tebow takes the snap, fakes the handoff, and launches an 80-yard bomb to Demaryius Thomas, who breaks one tackle and sprints untouched into the end zone. Broncos 29, Steelers 23. Game over. One play. Eleven seconds. The stadium, all 76,125 of them, lost its collective mind. Tebow finished that game 10-for-21 with 316 passing yards (yes, 3:16, the very Bible verse he wore on his eye black at Florida), two touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 125.6 passer rating. He also rushed 10 times for 50 yards and another score. Thomas caught just four passes, for 204 yards. The whole thing became known simply as “The 3:16 Game,” and it remains one of the most unforgettable moments in Denver sports history.
There’s a layer of poetry to Sunday’s matchup, too. The Jaguars are the last NFL team Tebow suited up for, his brief 2021 tight end comeback, and now he’ll be planting the flag at Mile High against them. Denver traded Tebow to the New York Jets in March 2012 to make room for Peyton Manning, and while that obviously worked out, the city never quite let go of No. 15. He’s been back in Colorado several times this year for speaking events, but he hasn’t been on that field since the night he and D.T. wrote themselves into Broncos lore forever.
Bring tissues. Or just start watching the highlight on YouTube now so you get it out of your system before kickoff.
