That's the deal. Good teams win. Buffalo was a small market team in the SB years too, but a good small market team. I don't recall the rest of America getting on board, and saying, Yay, the Bills in the SB again".
Yes, there were some poor calls in the NE game, but the intensity of the Bills, and aggresiveness also dropped dramatically. There were several factors that added up to a loss, and poor officiating, though a factor, was not the largest.