Denver Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway has insisted that he is "proud" of the team's season despite it ending in disappointing fashion with defeat in the Super Bowl.
The Broncos blew most of their opponents away during the regular season, scoring an NFL-record 606 points on their way to winning the AFC.
However, the offence failed to reproduce that form in the Super Bowl on Sunday as the Seattle Seahawks dominated the game on their way to a 43-8 victory.
Elway admitted that his side did not play well on the night, but believes that they should still be proud of their record-breaking season.
"It was a great year. We came up short, but it wasn't due to lack of effort or lack of want-to. We didn't play very well two days ago. I know that's what everybody is disappointed about," Elway told The AP.
"We're disappointed about it, players are disappointed. But, it was a hell of a year. We went through a lot of different things, but I'm proud of the team. Right now the focus is on what happened instead of how we got there and what we did this year, what we went through as a team.
"But I say that the farther you get away from this, the less you concentrate on just that one game, the more you recognize the whole season and really what we did as a football team and really as an organization. And I'll tell you what, I'm very proud of that."
Elway suffered three Super Bowl defeats during his Hall of Fame playing career with the Broncos.
