4 Denver Broncos teams that should have played in the Super Bowl

- The year before back-to-back Super Bowls will always be remembered for the wrong reasons.

- Rahim Moore probably cost his team a chance to win it all.

AFC Championship Game: Pittsburgh Steelers v Denver Broncos
AFC Championship Game: Pittsburgh Steelers v Denver Broncos / Elsa/GettyImages
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2005 AFC Divisional Playoff Game - New England Patriots vs Denver Broncos - January 14, 2006
2005 AFC Divisional Playoff Game - New England Patriots vs Denver Broncos - January 14, 2006 / Drew Hallowell/GettyImages

Broncos teams that should have played in the Super Bowl: 2005

The 2005 Broncos were one of the most surprising teams in team history, especially when you consider that they were blown out 34-10 in the season opener by the Miami Dolphins. But they really put it together following that loss and finished the season at 13-3.

That was still just good for the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs as the Indianapolis Colts went 14-2 that year. But things got really exciting in the divisional round of that year's playoffs.

Not only did the Colts lose to the sixth-seed Pittsburgh Steelers in that round, but the Broncos had one of their most exciting wins in team history where they took out the New England Patriots. That was the first postseason loss that the combination of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady had together.

Suddenly, the Broncos had all of the momentum. The Colts and Patriots were out and now the Steelers, the last team to qualify for the playoffs, had to come to Denver for the AFC Championship Game.

What. A. Letdown.

The Steelers, behind a young Ben Roethlisberger and still being coached by Bill Cowher, ambushed the Broncos on that day and dealt them a devastating 34-17 loss.

The Steelers then went on to win Super Bowl XL by defeating the Seattle Seahawks, a team that the Broncos would have matched up quite well with. This was certainly a missed opportunity.