The New England Patriots couldn’t stave off the Denver Broncos last Sunday to clinch the AFC Championship title.

And they definitely — to the chagrin of Patriots Nation — won’t be appearing in this year’s historic Super Bowl 50.

But a black-and-white tattoo that stretches along the calf of Massachusetts native Burke O’Connell’s tells a very different story.

Two days before the Patriots lost to the Broncos at the Sports Authority Field, O’Connell had a tattoo inked into the back of his leg proclaiming the New England team as Super Bowl champions.

The tattoo, which was done by O’Connell’s friend “Milk Tatz,’’ a Miami-based artist, shows a gleaming Lombardi Trophy rising above the Patriots logo. Etched within the image is the Boston skyline, and the number “50.’’ The word “Champs’’ appears in large cursive letters above the trophy.

But champs the Patriots are not.

“Right when they started losing on Sunday, I was like, ‘Oh, man, this isn’t good.’ I just had that gut feeling. I knew it wasn’t going to end well. I knew it,’’ said O’Connell, a 31-year-old former motocross competitor who now lives in Los Angeles.

O’Connell said he had strongly believed that the Patriots would win the AFC championship and then advance to the Super Bowl to grab the title for a second year in a row.

Even though his home team lost, and people called him a “jinx,’’ O’Connell doesn’t regret jumping to conclusions — the tattoo has brought him some attention, and has turned into a conversation piece.

When he and Milk Tatz showed up at a club on Tuesday night, people recognized them instantly, he said, and asked to take photos with the tattoo.

Milk Tatz said that the image has gone viral, and O’Connell’s mistake has helped bring him a bit of recognition as an artist, even though he already has a fan base and has done tattoos for many NFL players, he said.

“This is by far the least worse situation me and Burke have been in,’’ Milk Tatz said. In fact, O’Connell admits, a tattoo of a girlfriend’s name that ran along the base of his chin was far worse than his Patriots mishap. After the couple broke up, he covered the tattoo with skulls.

“I can’t say ‘live and learn,’ because I didn’t live and learn,’’ O’Connell said. “But the memories. That’s what tattoos are there for. This one I’ll never forget.’’

Steve Annear can be reached at steve.annear@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @steveannear.