If you're at all religious, you might see some relevance in the number of yards Denver's Tim Tebow threw for in today's stunning 29-23 AFC Wild Card win over Pittsburgh. The number? 316.

For those of you not overly familiar with the Holy Book (and I guess I'm speaking to many Australians), John 3:16 is a key passage, which essentially says "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Tebow, who has taken the Broncos from the bottom of the AFC West to the second round of the playoffs, is a strong Christian who wears his religion, as well as his heart, on his sleeve. Whether or not you find his public proselytizing offensive, the bottom line is that this young man from Florida has become the best sports story of the 2011-2012 NFL season.

The media and fan frenzy known as "Tebowmania" was still in full effect going into today's game, despite Denver's three-game losing streak, and the fact that the Broncos were nine or ten point underdogs to Pittsburgh.

Tebow is the antithesis of an NFL quarterback. He's big and burly and is a far better runner than passer. At times, his passing motion looks downright painful.

But as someone tweeted earlier today "Tim Tebow. All he does is win."

And isn't that what professional sports is all about? From Bill Shankly and Vince Lombardi selling the "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" line to modern day NBA and NFL players who say "it's all about the ring," getting it done on the scoreboard, no matter how ugly, is the most important thing.

Today's result, which came against the defending AFC champions, sends the Broncos - who were 8-8 in the regular season - to Foxborough, Massachusetts for a date with top-seeded New England. The Patriots will be heavily favoured, but Denver fans - and the excitable media - will cherish another week of getting to write about Tebow.

There are so many things about this story that are confronting to those who watch and/or cover the NFL.

First of all, there's the religious angle. Australians tend to scoff at American athletes who constantly invoke the name of the Lord in postgame victory speeches. More often than not, these thank you's tend to be uttered in the same manner that one might thank a trainer or a coach. There's also the implied "God helped me win" theme that makes many - myself included - a bit uncomfortable.

But Tebow and his Christianity have been in the public eye for a long time, at least in the United States. Born in the Philippines to parents who worked as missionaries, Tebow has spent many summers doing missionary work and helping with his father's orphanage. He made no apologies for his public displays of Christianity during his highly-publicised career at the University of Florida, when he played on two national championship teams. In short, American sports fans are used to it, whether they like it or not.

Ironically, I think it's the football side of things makes many people more uncomfortable. That's because Tebow defies everything they've heard about the NFL. He's doing things that no one has done before, not only proving doubters wrong, but challenging an entire system and way of thinking.

Tebow is playing quarterback, but he can't throw very well. He's running a college style option attack that has never worked in the NFL. And more importantly, he's taking an average team (admittedly with a pretty good defense) into the second round of the playoffs, while flashy, "traditional" quarterbacks like Mark Sanchez and Tony Romo sit at home.

This is a remarkable story that still has at least one more week to go. Whether you're a believer or you're sick of the whole thing, the Tebowmania phenomenon still has legs. And after today, it may even have arms.