Maybe the Patriots don’t hate the Broncos the same way they’ve come to loathe the Colts, whose dime-dropping instigated the saga of Deflategate, which still has another courtroom chapter to go with the league trying to resuscitate its four-game ban of Tom Brady.
The Broncos may not even be up there with the Ravens and Jets on the hate-meter for the Patriots and their fans.
But when a team has a habit of beating the Pats, and then goes on to claim the big prize, it gets plenty of attention in the important offices at Gillette Stadium.