The Denver Broncos lost the AFC Championship, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, against the New England Patriots in a low-scoring affair due to a second-half snowstorm.

Even though Denver didn’t have Bo Nix, who suffered a broken bone in his right ankle in the previous playoff game against the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round, it’s not a guarantee that the game would have gone differently if Nix had been playing.

That being said, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye didn’t have his best game throwing the ball, with only 87 yards, but the MVP finalist made the right plays when necessary with his legs, adding 65 rushing yards, including the game-sealing first-down run late in the fourth.

More: Broncos’ list of 2026 NFL draft picks, free agents and cap space going into offseason

While many people saw the game-clinching run as a great play and gave credit to Maye for making the big play, former Denver Bronco and Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller made it clear that he believes he would have made the stop on Maye to extend the game for Denver.

Earlier on his own podcast, Miller stated he wouldn’t mind returning to Denver for a potential Super Bowl run in 2026. Still, the linebacker made a bold claim about how he would have affected the Broncos’ season if he had been on the roster for the conference championship on the last run by Maye.

“That play – and I’m not throwing anybody under the bus – but that play at the end of the game where Drake Maye rolled out for the bootleg and got the first down, I think Von makes that play,” Miller said.

Obviously, it’s easier said than done for someone to say they would have made that play when they were an audience member, even for a future Hall of Famer and Super Bowl MVP like Miller. Still, if the linebacker is talking about his ability to stop the play in his prime, that could be a different conversation.

Nonetheless, Miller’s confidence after 14 years in the league has to be admired, and if he does re-sign with Denver, he may find himself in a similar situation, where he can prove he can still make that play.

More Broncos news: