The wound will take time to scab over.

This isn’t easy to write, but the Broncos’ magical 2011-2012 season has came to a soul-crushing and devastating end.

It was a season where the franchise exceeded expectations, reviving from doormat to national headline grabber. However, the sad irony of this season is that Saturday night’s 45-10 blowout loss to the New England Patriots will be remembered just as much as last weekend’s magical upset over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As astonishing as the win was, Saturday’s loss was equally shocking, just on the other end of the emotional spectrum.

I knew the Broncos were long shots against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, but I didn’t realize how inferior they were to the three-time Super Bowl champions.

The Broncos were exposed with the world watching, but more importantly, they never stood a chance against a team that was completely and utterly better than them.

Brady ripped our rookie-infested secondary for a playoff-record six touchdowns, while all-star tight end Rob Gronkowski proved that he is, in fact, unstoppable. As if that wasn’t enough, the Pats’ pass rush, run defense, run offense and special teams were also all better than the Broncos’.

In other words, Denver lost at every facet of the game. And the score showed that, but it was harder to watch the game live than to look at the box score on Sunday morning. Each and every play of the game was infuriating, which isn’t an exaggeration.

I’ve seen disappointing Broncos losses before, but this one takes the cake.

But let’s not dwell on it for too long. After all, Denver was coming off a 4-12 season, the worst in franchise history, and they were able to make the playoffs and advance in the playoffs, which is a lot to be grateful for.

It wasn’t a bad year by any means, but it’s a season that only leaves  fans looking forward to the next one. So where do the Broncos stand heading into the 2012 season?

First off, they need to address needs in the defensive backfield, both at safety and at cornerback. Secondly, they have to implement a more stable offense for the now official starting QB Tim Tebow, which allows him to throw more and run the option less. Thirdly, and most importantly, the franchise needs to continue moving in the direction it has been heading these past three months.

More specifically, as a franchise, the Broncos need to aim to beat the Pats. An AFC championship is a mere impossibility if Denver can’t get by Brady, which it will never do with the roster it has now.

Now that this season has concluded for the Broncos, fans and members of the organization can look back and say it was a season of much improvement and excitement.

At the same time, it’s a season that proved there is much work to be done. The magic has died, but that doesn’t mean this is the end. Rather, it’s just the beginning.