Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless Hilariously Relive Tim Tebow Overtime Playoff Victory

"It was, without question, the worst day of my First Take career."

Skip and Stephen A. debated this one for a while. / Screenshot via @RealSkipBayless on X.

We had a reunion for the ages in the sports media world this week as, for the first time since June of 2016, long-time First Take co-hosts Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless took the airwaves together.

Bayless welcomed Stephen A. onto his The Skip Bayless Show podcast on Monday and—among the many topics they re-hashed from their run on ESPN—they hilariously reminisced about Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos' 2011 playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"Literally, I collapsed on the floor," said Stephen A. of his reaction to Demaryius Thomas' 80-yard, game-winning touchdown. "And I laid there for over two hours... because first of all, I'm a Pittsburgh Steelers fan so I was really upset we lost. Secondly, I was upset because we lost to Tim Tebow of all people. And last but not least, I knew what was waiting for me the next morning. It is the only time in my career... I remember spending like a legitimate two to three hours trying to conspire to come up with a way that I wouldn't have to come to work the next morning... anything to not face Skip Bayless on this day."

For context, Bayless was a massive fan of Tebow during his miraculous run with Denver, while Smith was a harsh critic—once calling him the "worst quarterback in NFL history."

Here's a look at the segment from Monday's show:

Stephen A fell to the floor and couldn't move for two hours after Tim Tebow beat his Steelers in the playoffs pic.twitter.com/NPkSXDUK8Z

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 12, 2025

And here's a look a throwback look at the start of their episode of First Take the next day:

Man, to have these two on the air together again...

---

More NFL on Sports Illustrated