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The Denver Broncos were so close to Super Bowl LX, but when the clock reached zero in the AFC Championship Game, it felt like they were so far away. That's how quickly a dream season ends in the NFL and the world of sports in general.
The immediate questions become how soon can the team get back and what does the team need in order to be better? Those are difficult questions to answer, as reaching the Super Bowl is extremely difficult for anyone not named Tom Brady.
The Broncos were last there in 2015. It took a decade to have a chance to get back. This one is going to sting for a while, but for George Payton, Sean Payton and the rest of the organization, the work to get back starts immediately.
Before much more talk about what the future holds, here's a look at some takeaways, some 24 hours or so after the Patriots celebrated with the Lamar Hunt trophy on the Broncos' own field.
Honest Broncos AFC Championship Game takeaways
We'll start with the two biggest plays in this game, both made by the Broncos.
Broncos fans should cut Sean Payton some slack
The early decision to go for it on 4th-and-1 from the Patriots' 14-yard line rather than kick a short field goal to go up 10-0 will be questioned for years to come. Some fans are even calling it THE reason the Broncos lost this game. However, if that drive ends with a touchdown and it's 14-0, the Broncos are playing in the Super Bowl and this is never questioned.
Hindsight is always 20/20 and while it's easy to criticize Payton's decision to go for it, the play that was called should be the bigger gripe. The Patriots had that play snuffed out before the snap and it was horribly executed. On 4th-and-1, you see nearly every other team in the league line up and push their quarterback forward. This would have been the better play call.
That said, if you're using your backup quarterback and points are likely to be at a premium, the correct decision is to kick the field goal and take the points. But calling it the reason the Broncos lost the game is a bit much.
Backwards pass
This was the play that changed everything in this game. Up to this point, the Patriots' offense had not even been in Denver territory. However, this was not a backwards pass. It's just not.
It was originally ruled incomplete with an intentional grounding penalty and that is what it should have stayed. Quickly, officials changed the ruling and called it a backwards pass, making it a live ball, which the Patriots picked up. Looking at the replay, it looks like the Patriots defender deflects the ball out of Stidham's hand as he is getting rid of it. That is an incomplete pass.
Instead, it turns into a gift for the Patriots as they score the only touchdown they would have all game two plays later.
While it feels like the Broncos were hosed on this call, one thing is not arguable. Stidham should have just eaten the sack on this play and his trying to avoid one cost the Broncos seven points, all of the momentum they had earned and likely, much more.
Bo Nix absence was too much to overcome
Broncos fans were optimistic about Stidham playing, but he played a poor game and contributed largely to this defeat. Had Bo Nix been available, there is little doubt that the Broncos would have won this game.
If Broncos fans want to find a positive in there, it's how important Nix is to this team and shows just how good he truly is. There is no question about whether the Broncos have found their quarterback or not; they have.
Weather was the biggest factor
As poorly as the Broncos played, the Patriots didn't play any better. It would have been interesting to see how this game would have played out if there had been no change in the outdoor elements.
But at halftime, the wet, driving snow began to fall at Empower Field at Mile High and from an offensive standpoint, the game was basically over. With the game tied 7-7, the Patriots were fortunate in the fact that they got the ball first and were able to go down the field, with the wind blowing in the opposite direction and before conditions got too bad. That is when they put their best drive together and managed to kick a 23-yard field goal, which ended up being the game-winning points.
From that point on, even getting a first down was quite difficult.
The Broncos need some more weapons
Following the loss to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round last season, I discussed how the Broncos needed to search high and low for offensive weapons to surround Nix with. They signed Engram in free agency and drafted Harvey in the second round.
That was a start, but the team needs to get more serious and more aggressive this offseason. The Broncos need to target a running back like Breece Hall in free agency. If they had any semblance of a rushing attack, they would be playing in the Super Bowl. Next year, running the ball effectively is a must for Payton's offense.
While they're at it, the team needs to find a top-flight No. 1 wide receiver as well. The free-agent market will offer names such as Deebo Samuel, Alec Pierce and Wan'Dale Robinson. Those are probably the biggest names that will be available, so the team may need to entertain the idea of a blockbuster trade.
The better team did not win, but...
Remember, we're being honest here. The Broncos were a better team than the Patriots and with Nix, they would have won. They lost the game due to poor execution while having to turn the ball over to Stidham. That's not to take credit away from the Patriots; they did what they needed to do in order to win the game.
But if the Broncos were to have pulled this off, maybe beating the Patriots with a field goal in overtime, they would be heading to the Super Bowl to face a nasty Seattle Seahawks defense and a Seahawks offense that has scored 72 points in two postseason games.
READ: Broncos' Dre Greenlaw offers surprising insight following disappointing season
The Seahawks have already blown the Broncos out in the Super Bowl before. Did anyone in Broncos Country really want to see that potentially happen again? Cause it would have been quite likely.
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