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Tim Tebow taking a snap in the 3:16 game (January 8, 2012)

The 3:16 game was a January 8, 2012, National Football League playoff game between the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The game took place in the 2011–12 NFL playoffs and it finished with four statistics that contained the numbers 3–1–6. The game is also notable for having the shortest overtime in NFL history; it took 11 seconds.

When Tim Tebow played college football for the Florida Gators and during the 2008 Florida Gators season he began writing messages on his eye black. At the conclusion of the season, Tebow played in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game and he promoted a Bible verse by inscribing John 3:16 into his eye black. Exactly three years to the day after that championship game, Tebow was an NFL quarterback playing for the Denver Broncos and he wrote 3:16 in his eye black again; in that January 8, 2012, playoff game, he had statistics which coincidentally bore a similarity to the numbers 3:16.

During the game, Tim Tebow accumulated 316 passing yards with an average of 31.6 yards per completion. The Pittsburgh Steelers finished the game with a time of possession of 31:06. The game's ratings peaked between 8:00-–8:15 p.m. Eastern Time with a rating of 31.6. Pittsburg Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw a second–quarter interception, on third–and–16. Also going into the playoffs, the Denver Broncos last their last three regular season games by 18, 4 and 26 points which totaled 3 losses by an average of 16 points each.

Background

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The use of eye black involves painting black stripes under the eyes. The black is used to absorb light and make it easier for the wearer to see better. Eye black is commonly used in sports such as, football, baseball and lacrosse. One of the first athletes to wear eye black was Babe Ruth in the 1930s.[1]

Between 2003–2005 college football running back Reggie Bush started the trend of writing messages in his eye black.[A 1] He scrawled the area code of San Diego (619) into his eye black. College football quarterback Tim Tebow began scrawling messages in his eye black. Tebow scrawled the numbers for various bible verses into his eye black. Some of the bible verses he promoted were: Mark 8:36, John 16:33, Ephesians 2:8–10, James 1:2–4 and John 3:16.[3] Tim Tebow considers himself to be a devout Christian and was the quarterback for the Denver Broncos. The Bible verse John 3:16 was meaningful to Tim Tebow because of the message in the verse: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."[4]

On January 8, 2009, Tim Tebow was the quarterback of the Florida Gators in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game: during the game, he wore eye black that was inscribed with the numerical entry for the bible verse John 3:16.[5] The reference to John 3:16 was said to have caused 94 million people to look up its meaning on the Google search engine.[6]

Statistical coincidences

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On January 8, 2012, during the 2011–12 NFL playoffs in a game between the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers Tim Tebow had game statistics that were similar to the referenced bible verse John 3:16. The playoff game was played exactly three years after Tebow wore the eye black inscribed with the bible verse John 3:16.[5]

Tim Tebow accumulated 316 passing yards with an average of 31.6 yards per completion.[7][8] The Pittsburgh Steelers finished the game with a similar numerical coincidence: their time of possession in the game was 31:06. CBS aired the game on their television station and they too had a coincidental match to the numbers representing the bible verse: the game's ratings peaked between 8:00-–8:15 p.m. Eastern Time with a rating of 31.6. The game finished with what was considered an upset victory: the final score of the game was Denver Broncos 29 and the Pittsburgh Steelers 23.[9][10] In the game Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburg Steelers threw a second–quarter interception, on third–and–16.[5] Also the Broncos last three regular season games were all losses by 18, 4 and 26 points which totaled 3 losses by an average of 16 points each.[11]

Game summary

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The score at the conclusion of the first quarter was Pittsburg Steelers six and Denver Broncos zero. Shaun Suisham kicked field goals of 45 and 38 yards. In the second quarter the Denver Broncos scored 20 points: on an Eddie Royal 30 Yard Pass, a Tim Tebow 8 Yard Run and two Matt Prater extra points and two field goals (20 and 28 yards). In the third quarter the Pittsburg Steelers scored seven points on a Mike Wallace one Yard Run and a Shaun Suisham extra point. In the fourth quarter the Denver Broncos scored once on a Shaun Suisham field 35 yard goal. The Pittsburg Steelers scored three times: a Shaun Suisham 37 Yard Field, a Jerricho Cotchery 31 Yard touchdown Pass and a Shaun Suisham extra point. At the conclusion of the game the score was 23 to 23.[12]

Overtime

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In the overtime period there was a coin toss to see who would possesses the football and the the Pittsburg Steelers called tails and lost the coin toss. The Denver Broncos elected to receive the ball. On the first play of the overtime period, Tim Tebow threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas to win the game by a score of 29-23.[13]

Legacy

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During the 3:16 game and into the next day John 3:16 was the most searched term on Google Search, as people apparently tried to make sense of the statistical coincidences.[14] The game is also notable for having the shortest overtime in NFL history; it took 11 seconds.[15]

The week after the 3:16 game, during the January 14, 2012, playoff game between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots a 30–second commercial was aired featuring children reading the bible verse John 3:16. The commercial aired in the second quarter of the game on CBS. The spot was paid for by the Colorado Christian ministry Focus on the Family. A spokesman for the group said Tebow was not mentioned in the ad, but he was the "cultural phenomenon that inspired it".[16]

In 2016 Tebow appeared on the Harry Connick Jr.'s talk show. Tebow told Connick that after he finished the playoff game against the Steelers he was on his way to talk to the media when a person from the Broncos public relations told him: "it's exactly three years later from the day that you wore John 3:16 under your eyes ... during the game you threw for 316 yards. Your yards per rush were 3.16. Your yards per completion were 31.6. The ratings for the game were 31.6 and the time of possession was 31.6."[17][A 2]

In 2017 one of Tebow's football teammates from college had killed himself with references to John 3:16. Massachusetts State Police stated that convicted murderer and former NFL player Aaron Hernandez hanged himself in his prison cell. They reported that he had written "John 3:16" with red ink on his forehead and in blood on the wall of his prison cell.[6]

Notes

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  1. ^ In college football some players used strips of black tape under their eyes. Reggie Bush, Tim Tebow and other players occasionally used a white marker to write messages on the black strips. The NCAA banned the practice in 2010 as a result of Tim Tebow's practice of writing spiritual messages in his eye black.[2]
  2. ^ The statement included a factual error about Tim Tebow's rushing yards. According to ESPN Tebow had 10 rushes for 50 yards which gave him a 5 yards per rush average.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Orwig, Nathaniel Lee, Jessica (1 September 2017). "Why athletes wear black marks under their eyes". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ DiRocco, Michael (17 April 2010). "The message is out on eye black in college football and the NFL". The Florida Times-Union. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  3. ^ Jonsson, Patrik (3 February 2010). "Top 5 Tim Tebow eye black biblical verses". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  4. ^ Boren, Cindy (9 January 2012). "Tim Tebow: Credit John 3:16, John Elway and John Fox". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Schefter, Adam (13 January 2012). "Tebow phenomenon gets eerie". ESPN. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  6. ^ a b Andrews, Travis M. (5 May 2017). "John 3:16, sports and Aaron Hernandez". The Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  7. ^ Smith, Stephen (10 January 2012). "John 3:16: Tebow stat line evokes biblical verse". CBS News. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Wild Card - Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos - January 8th, 2012". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  9. ^ Levy, Glen (9 January 2012). "Tim Tebow's 316 Passing Yards Evokes Biblical Number". Time. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  10. ^ Levenson, Michael (20 April 2017). "Here's why John 3:16 is so popular in sports". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  11. ^ "2011 Denver Broncos Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Broncos 29-23 Steelers (Jan 8, 2012) Play-by-Play". ESPN. ESPN. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Broncos 29-23 Steelers (Jan 8, 2012) Game Recap". ESPN. Associated Press. 9 January 2012. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  14. ^ Lynch, Rene (9 January 2012). "John 3:16 message delivered by Tim Tebow's arm". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  15. ^ Johnson, Bailey (9 January 2012). "Watch: Tebow's OT touchdown pass to Thomas - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Focus on the Family unveils John 3:16 ad during Broncos game". The Denver Post. 14 January 2012. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  17. ^ Stone, Natalie (5 December 2016). "Tim Tebow and Harry Connick Jr. Play the Toast Toss Challenge — Find Out Who (Barely) Won!". People Magazine. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Broncos 29-23 Steelers (Jan 8, 2012) Box Score". ESPN. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.


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