Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker walks off the field...

Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker walks off the field after the losing to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII Feb. 2, 2014 at MetLife Stadium. Credit: AP / Chris O'Meara

Turns out the third time wasn't a charm for Wes Welker.

The Denver slot receiver is 0-for-3 in his quest for a Super Bowl ring after the Broncos' 43-8 drubbing at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks Sunday night at MetLife Stadium.

Welker -- who caught eight passes for 84 yards and no touchdowns -- downplayed his own personal agenda this past week as he and his teammates prepped to face the "Legion of Boom" and the rest of Seattle's defense.

And after he again missed the chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, his responses were especially terse.

"It hurts no matter what," Welker said when a reporter brought up his Super Bowl history. "It's never easy. It can be a cruel game sometimes. You just have to roll with it."

He tried to do just that after the biggest drop of his career two years ago. Many fans blamed Welker -- then a Patriot -- for New England's 21-17 loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI. With the Patriots up 17-15 and four minutes left in the game, the wide-open slot receiver dropped a 23-yard pass from Tom Brady. It was high and slightly behind Welker, but it seemed just about everyone blamed the receiver for not holding on to the football. The Giants then drove 88 yards for the winning touchdown, Ahmad Bradshaw's 6-yard run.

Unlike some of his teammates, Welker wouldn't say that Seattle's defense was the best the Broncos have faced this season. Nevertheless, he credited the Seahawks for getting the job done.

"I can't take anything away from them,'' he said. "They're a great defense and they do a great job across the board. But we didn't execute the way that we execute. It wasn't our best night and they came out and played really well. We could just never really get it going, so hats off to them.''

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