The New England Patriots will return to Denver to face the Broncos once again in the AFC Championship game Sunday. Historically, those playoff trips to Colorado haven't ended well.

The Patriots have never won a playoff game in Denver. The Broncos are 4-0 against New England in the postseason at home, with three of those wins coming when Tom Brady was the opposing quarterback.

Denver beat the Patriots in the playoffs in 1987, 2006, 2014, and 2016. In fact, the only time New England has beaten the Broncos in the postseason was 2012 when the Patriots throttled Denver and Tim Tebow, 45-10, at Gillette Stadium.

Here's a look at the Patriots history in the playoffs in Denver.

John Elway beats Patriots

On January 4, 1987, Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway's Broncos got the best of Tony Eason, Stanley Morgan and the rest of the Patriots in the divisional round.

Morgan hauled in two touchdowns on the day, but it wasn't enough.

New England led Denver, 17-13, in the third quarter, but Elway connected with Vance Johnson on a 48-yard score at the end of the third to give the Broncos the lead for good.

Tom Brady's first playoff loss

The teams did not meet again in the playoffs until the divisional round on January 14, 2006. 

Brady's Patriots were 10-6 in the regular season, and beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild-card round to earn a date with Jake Plummer and the 14-3 Broncos.

Denver was too much for the Patriots. New England could only muster 13 points, the Patriots turned the ball over five times and the Broncos went on to win, 27-13.

It was the first time Brady had ever lost in the postseason.

One notable member of that losing Patriots team was linebacker Mike Vrabel, who will be coaching the Patriots this Sunday.

Brady vs. Manning

Brady got another crack at the Broncos on January 19, 2014 in the AFC Championship Game. Unfortunately for the Patriots and their fans, the results were similar.

Denver won that game, 26-16, thanks to 400 yards passing and two touchdowns from Peyton Manning. Brady threw for 277 yards and one touchdown, but the New England offense could never get going with a banged up wide receiver room.

The Broncos went on to lose the Super Bowl to the Seattle Seahawks in a blowout.

Tom Brady's Denver comeback falls short

Brady and Manning locked up one more time in the AFC Championship Game in Denver on January 24, 2016. Though the Broncos were in control nearly the entire game, heroics from Brady and Rob Gronkowski nearly brought New England all the way back.

On 4th and 10 at midfield with 1:34 to play, Brady made one of the best throws of his career, finding his tight end for 40 yards. Then on 4th and goal with 12 seconds to play, Brady and Gronkowski connected for a touchdown. But the Broncos stopped the two-point conversion and won the game, 20-18.

Denver went on to beat the Carolina Panthers, 24-10, in Super Bowl 50.

The Patriots and Broncos will renew their postseason rivalry on Sunday, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. eastern time at Empower Field at Mile High. You can watch the game on CBS stations, including WBZ-TV, as well as Paramount+.

Denver is the top seed in the AFC with a record of 15-3. The 16-and-3 Patriots are the second seed.