No Contest: Broncos Overrun By Patriots 45-10

FINAL

The Broncos won the turnover battle. They won Time of Possession. The game wasn't even close. Tom Brady is a Hall of Famer for a reason and he showed it tonight - Brady went 26-34 for 363 yards and a playoff-record 6 touchdowns, leading the Patriots to a 45-10 win.

I know we all love the blame game, but tonight was a team loss - like many of the wins this year were team wins. Nothing was working tonight with the Broncos getting poor performances from all their key contributors. At some point, however, you need to tip your cap to the team on the other side - especially when they are 13-3 and come in as the AFC's #1-seed.

It's tough to swallow now - we are all disappointed - but somehow, some way, try and focus on what the Denver Broncos DID accomplish this season instead of what they failed to do tonight. At 5-16 since the start of 2010, the Broncos were going no where. They turned it around, went 8-5, won a playoff game and brought respectability back to Broncos football.

If you are old enough, you remember living through 39-20, 42-10 and 55-10. Those were Super Bowls. John Elway was the quarterback. The Broncos survived then, and we all will now.

Hold your heads high, Broncos Country, the Broncos are on the rise.

GO BRONCOS!