Denver Broncos: Which devastating playoff loss was the worst?

Which loss was worse?

Both of these losses were tough, difficult to swallow defeats. There is no way around that. Aside from the losses in the Super Bowl to the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers and later, Seattle Seahawks, these are arguably the worst losses in Broncos history.

But if you had to decide between the two, which was worse?

Both losses happened when the Broncos had 13-3 regular-season records. Both losses came when the Broncos were the No.1 seed in the playoffs and both losses happened in Denver. Both times, the Broncos were massive favorites.

It comes down to how you view things.

In 1996, the Broncos were a Super Bowl favorite with a legendary quarterback. The Jaguars were in their second season of existence. The Broncos had a two-touchdown lead in that game and gave it up.

It’s a bad loss and if you were to pick that one, you wouldn’t be wrong.

If I am going to make a pick, I am going to pick the Baltimore loss simply because of the way it ended. There is just no way that the touchdown to Jones should have happened.

In the Jacksonville loss, you had Brunell made some big plays to put his team on his back and pull off the improbable win. In the Baltimore loss, it really came down to a fluke play.

Sure, the Broncos let the Ravens hang around in that game all day. But the 70-yard pass from Flacco to Jones, if that play were to run 100 times, it would not happen the way it did again.

On top of that, the Ravens went on to win the Super Bowl that year. Jacksonville was defeated in the AFC Championship Game.

That made the pill even tougher to swallow.

It’s close as both losses were equally heartbreaking. As stated before, if you asked 100 different Broncos fans, you might get a split right down the middle. For some, it might come down to the game they saw in person or the game that they remember watching live. While for others, who watched both games as they happened, it will come down to just one excruciating detail.

Like a pass sailing over a safety’s head and outstretched hand when there was only a three-man rush on.