Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow runs for a first down during Sunday's victory over the Bears. (AP)

The Bears could not do what Charles Barkley begged them to: “Stop the madness” and prevent Tim Tebow from engineering another miraculous comeback.

Now, it’s up to the Patriots, who play in Denver next Sunday.

If you listen to the Bears defenders, the Patriots shouldn’t worry too much.

“It wasn’t anything special that he did,” defensive end Julius Peppers said after Tebow overcame an unproductive first three quarters and led the Broncos on three scoring drives in the final 11 minutes of a 13-10 overtime victory.

Linebacker Brian Urlacher offered this backhanded compliment: “He’s a good running back, man. He runs the ball well.”

Chicago’s mistake was giving Tebow a chance in the fourth quarter. When the game is close, Tebow is at his best.

Writes Denver Post columnist Mike Kilis: “There is no antidote for, no potion against Tebow Magic.”

Tebow completed 21-of-40 passes for 236 yards and rushed for 49 more. He was just 3-for-16 for 45 yards and an interception through the first three quarters — completing no passes (in nine attempts) in the second and third quarters. (In his defense, there were a handful of passes that could have been caught but were dropped by Broncos receivers.)

Tebow picked it up midway through the fourth quarter. With his team trailing 10-0, he completed 9-of-14 passes, leading the Broncos on a seven-play, 63-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas with less than three minutes remaining. With under two minutes left — after Bears running back Marion Barber failed to stay in bounds on a run and take more time off the clock and Chicago punted the ball away — Tebow took the Broncos 39 yards on eight plays (3-of-6 passing) to set up Matt Prater‘s game-tying 59-yard field goal with eight seconds left.

“I might have thanked the Lord when he did that,” Tebow said of Barber’s mistake. “That was obviously something where you shouldn’t do that. That kept us in it. We probably would have had 10 seconds left if he would have stayed in.”

In overtime, after Barber fumbled away the ball when the Bears were in field goal range, Tebow led his team 33 yards (3-for-4 passing for 28 yards), and Prater ended it with a 51-yarder.

In the fourth quarter and overtime combined, Tebow was 18-of-24 for 191 yards and a touchdown.

“There’s no one else I’d rather have the ball in his hands when it counts,” Broncos linebacker Von Miller said.

Added Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey: “I don’t want to give him all the credit. But at the same time, he comes through at crunch time every week. Every single week it’s like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ It gets to the point where you say, ‘What the frickin’ is happening here?’ ”

Stated Tebow: “If you believe, then unbelievable things can sometimes be possible.”