Championship Sunday’s doubleheader was decided by a combined seven points, so it’s hardly surprising that some member of the Los Angeles Rams or Broncos would still dwell on the could, could and should as the Seattle Seahawks and Patriots prepare to play in the biggest of the big games.
For the Broncos and Bolles, there were plenty of areas of unease as a result of the loss.
There was a failed fourth-down attempt in the second quarter as coach Sean Payton missed a field goal attempt that likely would have led to a 10-0 lead.
“Do I wish we ran the ball when it was fourth-and-1? Bolles said. “Yeah, go back in time, sure, but you know, coach called the play, we’ve got to execute it, we didn’t. And that was the difference in the game.”
It was also the snow waves that played the main role in the game in the second half.
“They can say what they want – whatever they want – but we lost by three points,” Bolles said. “It wasn’t the blizzard, it wasn’t anything … Stiddy did everything he could. Love that dude; I’m so thankful he came in and took care of the business he did, but it would be a different ball game if we had our quarterback.”
Bolles, who was named Defensive Player of the Year and Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year at NFL honorsUnsurprisingly, the Patriots won’t win on Super Bowl Sunday.
“I hope they lose,” he said.
Believing the Broncos’ AFC Championship game fate was decided in the Division Bowl before it swirled away in a snowy nightmare, Bolles clearly hasn’t moved past the heartbreaker, but he’s looking forward to moving on, and doing so with his QB back healthy at the helm.
“I’m saying it would have been a different outcome if we had our starter. I think it was devastating for all of us when it happened — I thought it wasn’t true,” Bolles said. “Bo took us there. He had a tremendous year, and when you lose a guy like that, that’s the leader of your group, not just the O-line, but your team. His confidence level, his swagger, his ability to run and see the open field in different ways — it’s tough to lose. Obviously we got it, but we had to, but we didn’t have to. what the future holds for us.”