The Denver Broncos‘ season came to an abrupt end on Sunday in the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots. While it was a disappointing ending for players, coaches and fans, it was especially devastating for left tackle Garett Bolles.
“Obviously, it’s devastating for me and all my teammates, to be honest,” Bolles said after the AFC Championship. “We put in a lot of work this season and did exactly what we needed to do, and we just came up one game short. [It’s] probably one of the most crushing losses I’ve ever faced — worse than the Miami loss, to be honest, a couple years ago.”
Even after a day to digest the loss fully, Bolles felt sorrow for the way things worked out. “I’m pretty angry and frustrated,” Bolles said on Monday. “There were a lot of tears that came down my face yesterday. I’ve been here for a long time and to get that close hurt really bad.”
As the franchise’s longest-tenured player, Bolles has been through it all: coaching changes, season-ending injuries, and finally the first postseason win of his career, in the divisional round over the Buffalo Bills. In his eyes, the Broncos are just getting started, ready for the next challenge.
“This team is full of winners, full of dog mentalities,” Bolles said postgame. “This team is young and humble and hungry. We have a lot of money this offseason to be able to go get some key players. I’m excited for that. I’m excited for where this team’s going, this future and this organization.”
He echoed those comments on Monday during his exit interview. “I know exactly where this team is going,” Bolles said. “I know the future that we have. I know the players that we have in this building.”
The Broncos will certainly reflect on their best season of the Sean Payton era, and their best ending to a season since winning Super Bowl 50 a decade ago.
The future is bright, that’s for sure.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Broncos: AFC title game most ‘crushing’ loss of Garett Bolles’ career
