Evangelical fan fave and Denver Broncos QB Tim Tebow is one-and-done, gone from the NFL playoffs after a 45-10 whupping, er, "reality check" from Bill Belichick and the Evil Empire, a.k.a. the New England Patriots. (As a Giants fan, I must say I understand the sentiment.)

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Tebow will be back soon enough, having been anointed the Broncos' presumptive starter going into training camp next summer. Besides, given the fervor so many Christians invested in him, he seemed destined to remain a religious and cultural icon -- and flashpoint -- whatever happened on the playing field.

Yet Tebow's legacy lives on even more vividly in the arena known as the Republican presidential primaries, which are in many respects a mirror image of the Tebow Phenomenon: fans, or voters, rallying around an appealing co-religionist but a second-tier talent as their champion.

These true believers rely on faith rather than a clear-eyed assessment of what it takes to actually win games (or primaries -- same thing?).

In the case of the Denver Broncos, there wasn't much choice, as they had no standout QB on the bench. But many conservative Christians in particular tried to finesse that by either suggesting God would help Tim win, or simply rallying around Tebow as a sign of their loyalty to the faith and their rejection of all his "cultured despisers."

That might make you feel good about yourself, and might provide some consolation when your team loses, as it seemed the Broncos inevitably would.

Yes, sports and religion have much in common, and from ancient times essentially overlapped.

But politics, unlike football, is actually not a winner-take-all contest. It is about ensuring your agenda is enacted in laws and policies -- whoever does the enacting shouldn't matter all that much.

That would argue for backing the candidate with the best chance of winning, and while Mitt Romney is viewed by many evangelicals as the Tom Brady of today's GOP field, he has the best chance of unseating Barack Obama.

Ralph Reed has been arguing that evangelicals are far more politically sophisticated than many (most?) give them credit for.

But is their religious template still governing their political choices?

The latest Gallup poll has Rick Santorum and Romney tied in "positive intensity scores," an important ranking for the the vital get-out-the-vote push. Can Mitt make inevitability a cardinal virtue and end the nomination fight before it gets too ugly?

The other religious temptation is to martyrdom. That doesn't work in politics, or in football.