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Nik Bonitto claimed the Broncos ‘were definitely the better team’ after loss to Patriots
"Yeah, we know."
Broncos defensive lineman’s bold claim: Following the Patriots’ narrow 10-7 AFC Championship game victory over the Broncos in Denver, clearly not everyone was satisfied with the outcome.
New England, having ended Denver’s season in a snowstorm, was not universally viewed as rightful AFC champions by the opposing Broncos following the final whistle. This was vocalized by visibly frustrated Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto.
Speaking to reporters in the locker room after the loss, Bonitto said he still thinks the Broncos — which entered Sunday as the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed — are the superior squad.
“It’s sickening to think that all we fought through this year, all the games we had to win, knowing we were definitely the better team, but it just didn’t work out that way today,” said Bonitto, via Zac Stevens of DNVR Sports.
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Asked a follow-up question about if it “hurts the most when you say you knew you were the better team,” Bonitto confirmed his initial reponse.
“Yeah, we know,” he replied, per Dever Sports 104.3’s Will Petersen.
Queried about what went wrong for the Broncos, he kept his analysis straightforward.
“Didn’t make enough plays to win the game, really, they made more plays than we did. They found a way,” Bonitto concluded.
Bonitto, 26, has been a standout pass-rusher for the Broncos over the past three seasons (including notching a total of 14 sacks in 2025). But despite playing 30 snaps on Sunday, he didn’t show up in the box score.
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The Broncos and Patriots both had 14-3 regular season records. Denver notched the No. 1 seed by having a better record against common opponents (as the Patriots’ Week 1 loss to the Raiders — who Denver defeated twice — was the tiebreaker).
Fittingly for a football matchup in January between teams from New England and Denver, the game would have been played in a snowstorm either way.
The major issue for the Broncos was obviously that Denver’s season-long starting quarterback, Bo Nix, was ruled out after last week’s win in the divisional round due to a broken ankle.
Trivia: Mike Vrabel can become just the fifth head coach to win the Super Bowl in his first season with a team. Can you name the other four?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: The years in which they won the Super Bowl were 1971, 1990, 2003, and 2016.
Scores and schedules:
The Patriots defeated the Broncos 10-7 in the AFC Championship game on Sunday. New England will face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8.
Tonight, the Bruins face the Rangers in New York at 7 p.m.
Elsewhere, the Celtics host the Trail Blazers at 8 p.m.
On Wednesday, the Boston Fleet play the New York Sirens at the Tsongas Center at
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- 5 things to know about Patriots Super Bowl LX foe Seahawks
- What Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski said of the Patriots getting back to Super Bowl
- Drake Maye/Mike Vrabel breakthrough has many similarities to the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era
- Patriots open as underdogs against Seahawks in Super Bowl LX predictions
- Patriots’ unsung hero goes from practice squad to making key play vs. Broncos
- Stats don’t tell the story of Drake Maye’s improbable run to Super Bowl LX
- What Sean Payton said about Broncos going for it on fourth down instead of kicking field goal during AFC Championship loss
- An emotional Stefon Diggs finally earns his shot at a Super Bowl title
- Patriots embrace ‘road warrior’ mindset in blizzard conditions at Denver
- ‘A different Gonzo’: How Christian Gonzalez raised his game and clinched a spot in the Super Bowl
- ‘You have to believe in things, sometimes before you can see them’: Mike Vrabel is headed back to the Super Bowl
Inside the locker room: Mike Vrabel quoted “The Warriors” as the Patriots celebrated an AFC title game victory.
The plays that decided the game: Two of the Patriots’ young stars made the plays in the fourth quarter that put New England back in the Super Bowl. First, cornerback Christian Gonzalez intercepted Broncos QB Jarrett Stidham:
And then Drake Maye scrambled to get the first down, clinching the AFC Championship:
On this day: Paul Pierce put up a triple-double (27 points, 13 rebounds, 13 assists) in a 91-83 win over the Magic, but it was relegated below the fold as the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl XXXVII victory over the Raiders took center stage.
Daily highlight: With all of the football drama from the weekend, take a minute to appreciate the incredible high-speed save from Norwegian skier Adrian Sejersted (and the call from NBC’s Steve Porino). After catching an edge right at the top of a jump, Sejersted still managed to make the gate and miraculously land on one ski before recovering to finish fifth in the Super G event at Kitzbuhel in Austria on Saturday (the replay at 1:25 is also worth a watch).
Trivia answer: Don McCafferty, George Seifert, Jon Gruden, Gary Kubiak
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