Perhaps no team has a right to be more upset about their Super Bowl absence over the past decade or so than the Denver Broncos.

Not even hours after defeating the Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in overtime – whom many believed were destined to finally reach the Big Game without the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Patrick Mahomes or the Cincinnati Bengals‘ Joe Burrow standing in their way – Sean Payton announced the team would be without Bo Nix for the remainder of the playoffs, who had suffered a broken ankle.

And in the midst of a chorus of Broncos players believing that they are a better team than the Patriots, who beat them 10-7 in brutal second-half conditions at Mile High Stadium in the AFC Championship game, and that it is Denver who deserve to be playing this weekend, reigning Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II gave his thoughts on how Sunday’s game will play out.

Pat Surtain II Issues Harrowing Prediction For the Patriots

When asked for his score prediction for Super Bowl LX during his Pro Bowl participation on February 2, Surtain II’s answer was very much to-the-point.

“35-7 Seattle”.

It is perhaps unexpected that the All-Pro corner would want to root for the NFC side in this particular game. In most scenarios, players and teams often cheer for the team that knocked them out in the postseason to go on and win the whole thing, especially if their own game was close, as it implies that they are/were playing at a more-or-less championship level.

Yet, in this case, given that many Broncos players and fans feel quasi-robbed by the result – believing that had Nix been healthy, the score could and would have been much different in the game in Denver – alongside the fact that the Patriots and Broncos have a historic postseason rivalry going back to Peyton Manning/Tom Brady rivalry, Denver will gladly gaze upon a New England defeat this weekend.

Would Denver Have Beaten New England With Bo Nix?

Hindsight is 20/20, and hypotheticals are indeed just speculation.

With the 10-7 score in what was a closely fought affair – at least until the fourth quarter, where the awful wind and snow conditions made it seem borderline impossible that either team would be able to add to their totals; with the teams missing a combined four field goals between them – it is hard to imagine that there is at least not some intuition that imagines Denver would have had a strong chance to play the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.

The game would have been a replay of Super Bowl XLVII, where Seattle crushed the Broncos 43-7. And Denver could well have been the betting favorite going into the AFC Championship game had they had their QB1 available.

But at the end of the day – no one knows.

Daniel Arwas Daniel Arwas is a sports writer who covers the NFL for Heavy.com. Daniel began his career in sports writing in 2022 and has covered the NFL and college football for Gridiron Heroics and The Hammer. More about Daniel Arwas

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