Pat Surtain II just made a postgame promise Broncos fans need to hear

It's nearly impossible to be excited about "next year" in the moments following a difficult loss in the playoffs, but the Denver Broncos have plenty to be excited about for the team going forward.

The Broncos were the #1 seed in the AFC this past season, had one of the best defenses in football, and might have rolled through the AFC playoffs to the Super Bowl had it not been for an ankle injury suffered by Bo Nix in the final moments of the Divisional Round.

While it's difficult to see the silver lining at this particular moment, Broncos star cornerback Pat Surtain II made a promise to the fans after the game that everyone in Broncos Country is going to want to hear.

Pat Surtain II vows the Broncos will be back in the AFC Championship Game

Surtain keeps it real by saying, "This ain't gonna be the same team. That's the devastating part about it. This is not the last time we're gonna be here. We're just gonna keep on building and rebuilding, and get better."

The Broncos had the highest roster retention rate in the NFL this past year at 86 percent. It was a pretty remarkable number given the amount of turnover you usually see year over year in the NFL, but this was a team that believed in what they had built the first two years of the Sean Payton era.

And they made it this far, only to have the rug ripped out from underneath their feet with the Bo Nix injury. And they still played really hard in the AFC Championship Game, especially on defense, where the Patriots could do next to nothing against the Denver defense, even before the elements became a factor.

Again, it's really difficult to see the forest through the trees in these moments. When you just lost a playoff game, it's difficult to think about an entire year from now. But it reminds me a lot of the Broncos' loss in the 2014-15 playoffs against the Indianapolis Colts. Even though the circumstances were quite different, that feeling was deflating.

It felt like the Broncos had missed their shot to win it all, but they were right back in it the very next year.

And there's every reason to believe this team can get back. The core of the roster will be back. Bo Nix will be back. The weaknesses will be addressed, and a loss like this will put a chip on the shoulders of GM George Paton and head coach Sean Payton as they get to work on building for the future.

What we saw this year is that the AFC is wide open, and there for the taking. This won't be the last time we're hearing from the Broncos in big games like this.