The Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl champions, and they absolutely destroyed the New England Patriots in the process. Don't let the final score distract you. The Patriots went into the fourth quarter with no points, no ability to move the football, and they looked lifeless, at best. They scored a few points by the time the game was functionally over, doing enough to make the sum of the parts look better than it was.
The Seahawks' victory was emphatic, and it took the Patriots roughly 50 minutes to get anything going against the Seattle defense. The showing from Josh McDaniels' offense was pathetic, and painted the picture of a pretty insane gap between the talent in the AFC and the NFC. If the Patriots' performance did one thing, however, it cemented what almost all Denver Broncos fans already knew.
Without a reasonable doubt, it can be said that the Patriots were not the best team in the AFC this year. Arguably, the biggest loser from this Super Bowl was the Denver Broncos, who now have an easy case to make that they were the best team in the AFC this year. If not for Bo Nix's ankle injury, the Broncos could have been in last night's game instead of the Pats.
Super Bowl LX proved that the Denver Broncos were the top team in the AFC
Without a reasonable doubt, the Broncos were the AFC's top team in the 2025 season. Had it not been for the injury to Nix's ankle that sat him out of the AFC title game, the Broncos would have been the AFC's representative in the Super Bowl, and probably would have fared much better. The Patriots were lucky all season, and their biggest stroke of luck was Nix's absence against them in Denver.
Drake Maye could not have looked more lost and confused against the Seahawks, showing even further that the stage was too bright for him and his offense. The Patriots were not tested often this year, due in large part to their brutally easy schedule. The Broncos, on the other hand, were in battle after battle this year. Unfortunately, their battle wounds caught up to them right before they could finish the race.
The Broncos should enter this offseason knowing that they were the best in the AFC this season, but need to make the necessary moves to make sure they bring home next year's conference title. The Broncos have money to spend, and need to do so wisely as they prepare for a first-place schedule next year. The 2025 AFC title game officially has an asterisk next to the result, and it'll take a while for Broncos country to move on from this one.