Tim Tebow 'enjoying the journey'

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Tim Tebow trotted out into the frigid New England night sleeveless, perhaps looking to show that nothing indeed fazes him.

Opening kickoff was a little less than three hours away and the Broncos quarterback was already drawing a crowd, first getting a visit from CBS analyst Phil Simms before Patriots owner Robert Kraft came over to shake his hand.

Tebowmania was in full force at Gillette Stadium Saturday night for No. 4 Denver's AFC divisional matchup with the top-seeded Patriots. It did not appear that the Tebow express would continue on as Tom Brady had thrown six touchdown passes, three to tight end Rob Gronkowski, on the way to a 42-7 lead early in the third quarter.

The hype surrounding Tebow since he was named Denver's starter has been unparalleled and it didn't change one bit Saturday night.

"At this point," Broncos coach John Fox said during the week, "I think we're used to it."

Tebow's mystique grew after last Sunday's AFC wild-card win over the Steelers, thanks to that spectacular postseason debut of his. He completed 10 of 21 attempts for 316 yards with two touchdowns, ran for 50 yards and a score, and threw the 80-yard winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas on the first play from scrimmage in overtime.

He's just enjoying the ride, one that won't feel unfulfilled if Denver doesn't end up hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in Indianapolis next month.

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"No," he said. "It's definitely not Super Bowl or Bust. That's what I'm talking about, enjoying the journey. You have to just have fun every day. That was a lot of fun on Sunday, but you have to enjoy the blessing that we have and not just look forward to the destination. I'm having fun every day, and whatever happens, I'll definitely count this season as a blessing and I'm thankful for the opportunity."

He's certainly made the most of it heading into Saturday night's action and his teammates had taken notice.

"I think it's him being more comfortable with us now since he's been playing with us for a while," Thomas said. "He's just throwing the ball on time and getting a chance to make plays. I feel like every ball I caught in the game was on point. It was in my stride. I feel like he's getting more comfortable and not worrying about who's in what spot and where people are supposed to be."

Fox said: "He's gotten better, like we've said all along, we believed he would get better. You can believe that about any player on your roster. What happens in this league is if you improve every day, usually you're going to reap the rewards for it. As a football team, we've improved a lot from the first month of our season."

Tebow also seems more willing to pull the trigger on certain plays, something John Elway, Broncos executive vice president of football operations, had been looking to see.

"I feel comfortable with whatever they want me to do," Tebow said. "Whatever they ask me to do, I'm going to do it with all my heart and try to do it to the best of my ability."

Still, Tebow understands what he did against the Steelers last week meant nothing Saturday night.

"Every week is a new week," Tebow said. "You can't focus on the past; whether it was good, whether it was bad. I think each week, you learn from it, but each week is a new week. It's a new game, new stadium. We can't be thinking about last week when we're in Foxboro. We have to be focused on the Patriots and what they're doing."

Especially since Tebow was convinced that Patriots coach Bill Belichick would have a few wrinkles waiting for him this time around, hoping to put an end to the postseason version of Tebowmania.

"We will have a great game plan," Tebow said, "but we have to be prepared for a lot of different looks and also do a great job on the sideline of adjusting to what they're doing.

"He's confused a lot of great quarterbacks and stopped a lot of good offenses."