INGLEWOOD, Calif. — In the days leading up to Denver’s win-and-in, prime-time tilt against the Chargers on Thursday night, Sean Payton and the Broncos knew several things about the state of their run game.

First, they’d lacked consistency this season.

Second, they’d need it down the stretch to get where they’re trying to go.

And, finally, they’d be operating without Jaleel McLaughlin (quad) when they took on Jim Harbaugh’s team.

The numbers coming in weren’t pretty.

Over the previous five games, Denver averaged 84.9 rushing yards per game.

In that span, Javonte Williams rushed nine times for 59 against Atlanta but in the other four he totaled 15 yards on 19 carries.

The anemic production hadn’t hurt Denver badly — they had every chance to win at Kansas City in Week 10 and then won four straight — but it lurked as a potential problem.

Payton put his aim in bold print. Literally.

Atop his play sheet Thursday night, he wrote, “Run It!!!”

Early on, the Broncos did. Kitchen sink style.

First play: Rookie Audric Estime off the right side for 6 yards. Then WIlliams to the left for 6. Then a pitch to jack-of-all-trades Marvin Mims Jr. for 3.

Williams winded for 15 on third-and-2. Undrafted rookie Blake Watson made his NFL debut and churned for 7.

Estime, the fifth-round rookie out of Notre Dame, punched in a 3-yard touchdown, waltzing in behind right guard Quinn Meinerz and right tackle Mike McGlinchey, who caved down the Chargers’ defensive front.

“The first drive was the rhythm we wanted, the tempo we wanted,” Payton said.

Next drive? More of the same. And another touchdown.

The Broncos ran it 11 times for 73 yards on their opening two drives.

Then the well dried up. Fast.

Denver over the rest of the game ran just 10 times for 37 yards to finish with 21 for 110. They also, of course, let a 21-10 lead in the final seconds of the first half slip away into a 34-27 loss.

“In the second half, we get some pressure looks when they’re playing from behind,” Payton said. “We just didn’t sustain it enough and, certainly, I’ve got to look at each series, ‘Hey, with some of these looks, what are the sum of the runs?’ We had plenty of work on the run game going into the game.”

The dramatic turnaround had an eerily similar feel to Week 2 last year when Payton’s Broncos jumped out to a 21-3 lead over Washington. Before Thursday, that was the last time Denver had scored touchdowns on its first three drives to open a game.

That September afternoon, Denver had 10 carries for 64 yards on its first three drives and 12 for 76 before a Russell Wilson fumble late in the half turned the tide toward the Commanders. Washington eventually won that game 35-33. The Broncos finished that game with 23 carries for 122 yards.

A couple of weeks after that, Denver rushed 12 times for 115 in the first half against the Jets and built a slim lead but then went away from the ground entirely, netting just 24 yards in the second half of a 31-21 loss.

“I know better,” he said then. “I have to be more patient relative to how we run the ball, and it was that type of game.”

The 2024 Broncos are a different team but Payton may get a similar sentiment watching the film from this one. He knew it had to be a focus on the short week. Even wrote it on his play sheet. His offense dictated early on. Then let it get away.

The effect was palpable. The Broncos are built around their veteran offensive line. That group reveled in the early game bully ball. McGlinchey grabbed Estime by the helmet and screamed with joy after an early run. And then it evaporated.

The task over the final two regular-season games is two-fold: Stick with what works and stick with who works.

By the end of Thursday night’s game, the playing time looked like this: Williams 52%, Estime 20% and Watson 16%, though that got tilted late because Denver trusts Williams most in pass protecting and Denver found itself chasing points.

Estime finished with nine carries for 48 yards and the touchdown and, according to Next Gen Stats, finished with 15 yards over expected. That’s more than Williams has logged in any game this season, though the fourth-year man from North Carolina did have 6 over expected on four carries Thursday night.

There’s more that goes into being a running back than carrying the ball, but Estime’s rushing numbers are better than Williams’ in just about every category. He’s averaging 4.6 yards to Williams’ 3.6. He’s averaging 0.6 yards over expected per carry to Williams minus-0.3. He’s at 3.9 yards after contact per rush compared to Williams’ 2.7.

The NFL is a week-to-week league, but how Payton designs and implements his run plan the next two weeks will go a long way toward determining whether his team makes noise after that.

One small thing I liked: Welcome back, Drew Sanders. The Broncos’ second-year linebacker played his first defensive snap since tearing his Achilles in April and made the most of it. He shot through the middle and sacked Justin Herbert on an important third down midway through the fourth quarter.

What’s also interesting: Sanders went through warmups with the inside linebackers after it looked like he’d return to action this fall as an edge player.

The Broncos have good depth at outside linebacker, including a quality second line in Dondrea Tillman and Jonah Elliss. They don’t have that kind of depth and certainly not Sanders’ athleticism in the middle.

Denver could risk stunting Sanders’ development if they keep moving him back and forth, but a team with playoff aspirations is going to do what can help immediately. That’s getting the 2023 third-round pick on the field in pass-rush situations. Can he give Vance Joseph’s group more than that in the middle of the field? Seems like a long shot, but it’s not impossible he gets a chance after the starting group of Cody Barton and Justin Strnad struggled against the Chargers.

One small thing I didn’t like: We covered it some Thursday night as well, but the end-of-half playcalling sequence for Denver with 41 seconds remaining was a baffling one.

Payton explained it spot on.

“Typically, you’d be pretty conservative,” he said. “We were going to have the ball (to start the second half).”

The Chargers were going to let the half run out after a first-down screen went for minus-3. The Broncos didn’t have to even run a second-down play. They didn’t call timeout but they also rushed to the line of scrimmage and snapped the ball with 13 seconds left from their own 15-yard line. To what end? Why? Denver led by 11. They were getting the ball to start the third quarter. Rookie quarterback, on the road, trying to clinch a postseason spot. There just wasn’t a need to try to play fast from that spot on the field.

No doubt, the execution on the punt/fair catch/penalty/free kick sequence was bad. But it didn’t need to get to that point in the first place.

One trend to watch: Let’s set up the weekend scoreboard watching. Even if the Broncos lose their final two games, they’d essentially be a coin flip to make the playoffs.

The rooting guide is pretty easy for Broncos fans: Cheer against Cincinnati, Miami and Indianapolis. If each of those teams loses or ties over the final three weekends, Denver’s in regardless of its final two games. If either the Dolphins or Bengals win out and the Broncos drop their final two, Denver will be out.

The Colts can only get in with a three-way tie at 9-8 but they do have a manageable final three games. The Bengals play Cleveland, the Broncos and then Pittsburgh. The Dolphins have San Francisco, Cleveland and the Jets.

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Here’s a look at whose stock improved or declined after the Broncos’ 34-27 loss to the Chargers on Thursday at SoFi Stadium.

Stock Up

OLB Dondrea Tillman: Denver’s first-year edge rusher has continued to be an intriguing story for the Broncos this season. Tillman, who signed in the offseason after starring for the Birmingham Stallions in the United Football League, logged his fourth sack of the season when he took down quarterback Justin Herbert for a 10-yard loss in the third quarter. Although Nik Bonitto, Zach Allen and Jonathon Cooper have been the driving forces for one of the league’s best pass-rush units, Tillman’s impact shouldn’t be overlooked. He has totaled 19 pressures in 10 games, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

Safety Brandon Jones: The Broncos’ starting safety had another strong performance. Jones had 10 tackles and forced an incompletion in the third quarter after he delivered a hit on wide receiver Josh Palmer to disrupt Herbert’s pass attempt. The former Dolphin has recorded 101 tackles and three interceptions in 2024. He is the first Broncos safety since Hall of Famer Steve Atwater in 1995 to record at least 100 tackles and three interceptions in a season.

RB Audric Estime: Denver’s rookie running back showed once again why he deserves more carries. Estime had a touchdown and averaged 5.3 yards on nine carries against the Chargers. He also had a success rate (percentage of carries resulting in positive EPA) of 55.6%, according to Next Gen Stats.

LB Drew Sanders: The second-year linebacker made his first defensive snap of the season count. With 7:26 to go in the fourth, the third-round pick slipped past Los Angeles’ offensive line on a blitz and sacked Justin Herbert for an 11-yard loss. The play was even more impressive when considering Sanders tore his Achilles in the spring.

Stock Down

ILB Justin Strnad: Denver’s inside linebacker had a performance to forget. In addition to getting flagged for a late hit on Justin Herbert in the third quarter, Strnad was picked apart in coverage. He gave up seven catches for 103 yards on eight targets as the nearest defender vs. the Chargers, according to Next Gen Stats. Even if the late-hit flag was ticky-tack, that’s not good enough.

Denver’s pass rush: Outside of sacks from Drew Sanders and Dondrea Tillman, Los Angeles’ offensive line had the upper hand against Denver’s pass rush. The Broncos had 13 pressures against the Chargers. Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto was silenced after two straight weeks in the national spotlight. Bonitto had one pressure on 21 pass rush snaps. He was lined up against Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater for a good part of the game and couldn’t get anything going. Slater gave up a pressure rate of 5.6% in 18 matchups against Denver’s third-year edge rusher.

Bo Nix: Denver’s rookie quarterback threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns, but it still felt like he could’ve done more. He finished with an average air yards per attempt of 3.3 yards against the Chargers, the second-shortest average passing depth in a game by a quarterback this season with at least 20 passes, according to Next Gen Stats. The lowest came from Panthers’ Bryce Young, who had 3.0 air yards per attempt against the Chargers defense in Week 2.

Broncos vs. winning teams: Even though Denver is in the midst of its best season since 2015, there’s one glaring issue that has plagued the team. After the Broncos’ loss to the Chargers, they are 1-6 against teams that are above .500. However, they are 8-0 against those that are .500 or better.

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Tremon Smith placed himself on the wrong side of history in Denver’s 34-27 loss to the Chargers on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium.

Lined up as a gunner with eight seconds left in the second quarter, Smith raced upfield after Riley Dixon’s punt. But rather than pull up after the Chargers’ Derius Davis signaled a fair catch, he grazed the returner’s leg and caused him to fall to the turf.

The result: A 15-yard interference penalty that gave the Chargers an untimed down at Denver’s 47-yard line

“The returner did a good job of selling it, just running into me even though he wasn’t going to catch the ball,” Smith said. “… Dumb penalty.”

What followed hadn’t happened in nearly five decades.

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh took advantage of an obscure rule and attempted a fair-catch free kick. Los Angeles’ special teams trotted onto the field and kicker Cameron Dicker drilled a 57-yard field goal that by rule Denver wasn’t allowed to try to block — the first successful fair-catch free kick since 1976.

What could have been an 11-point halftime lead was instead whittled down to 21-13. Los Angeles then went on to outscore the Broncos 21-6 in the final two quarters to secure the win, snap Denver’s four-game win streak and put the Broncos’ playoff hopes temporarily on ice.

Broncos coach Sean Payton said Smith’s penalty “wasn’t smart.”

“The penalty put them in field goal position,” he added. “So it’s disappointing.”

According to Rule 10, Section 2, Article 4 of the NFL Rulebook, after a fair catch is made or is awarded as the result of fair catch interference, the receiving team has the option of putting the ball in play by a snap or fair catch kick (drop kick or place kick without a tee) from the spot of the catch or succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties.

Smith’s penalty gave Harbaugh an opportunity to put three points on the board. Dicker entered Thursday’s divisional matchup 8 for 9 (88.8%) on field goal attempts from 50-plus yards this season and 15 for 18 (83.3%) in the last two years. Without having to worry about Denver trying to block the ball, Dicker made his game-changing kick with ease.

“That’s something we talked about in our special teams group,” wide receiver and returner Marvin Mims Jr. said. “We all knew that was going to happen and (the Chargers) executed to perfection.”

There were a handful of reasons Denver lost to Los Angeles for the second time in 2024. The run game disappeared after an inspiring start. And the defense left receivers running open in the secondary multiple times, including Chargers rookie Ladd McConkey, who finished with six catches for 87 yards. But Denver’s seven penalties, especially the one from Smith, were the tipping point of Payton’s frustration.

Smith’s penalty wasn’t even the only flag that directly led to Chargers points.

Linebacker Justin Strnad hit a sliding Justin Herbert on third down in the red zone, drawing a roughing penalty that gave the Chargers first-and-goal at the Denver 5-yard line. Gus Edwards ran in a touchdown one play later to pull L.A. within five at 24-19.

One possession after that, the Broncos committed three penalties on a 7-play, 78-yard Chargers scoring drive that put them ahead 27-24 in the fourth quarter. That included Jonathon Cooper’s horse collar tackle of Herbert on a seemingly doomed play-action pass that gave L.A. the ball at midfield.

“It keeps continuing,” said Payton, who’d previously intimated that the team’s penalty numbers were problematic coming out of the bye week. “We gotta do a better job coaching because it’s not like it’s new.”

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OFFENSE — C-

The contrast could not have been more stark. The Broncos came out blistering hot, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions. They bullied the ball down the field. They used several ball-carriers. They did anything they wanted. And then… just about nothing. One effective drive to open the third quarter. But overall a possession chart that looked like this: Punt, punt, field goal, punt, punt, punt, field goal. They rolled to 212 net yards on their first three drives and then had just 124 on seven subsequent possessions. That won’t get it done.

DEFENSE — D

Don’t look now, but Vance Joseph’s defense is suddenly stuck in a rut. The past three games have included surrendering 552 yards to Cleveland, a slow start (but dominant finish) against Indianapolis and then a 34-point night at the Chargers on Thursday. They’d only given up 92 points in the second half through the first 14 games this year and surrendered 21 against Justin Herbert and company. More concerning: They busted several times in coverage, allowing Chargers receiver Ladd McConkey and others to run wide open in the middle of the field. All in all, a bad night at the office and now a big challenge with a dynamite Cincinnati offense up next on the docket.

SPECIAL TEAMS — D

Tremon Smith has been among the Broncos’ unsung heroes this year. He’s done terrific work on special teams and is a reason why Denver’s had among the league’s best units over the past two seasons. But the interference penalty on the final snap of the first half was a brutal blow. It moved the little-known fair catch free kick chance for Los Angeles to 57 yards. Maybe they would have tried it from 72, but that obviously would have been a much lower-percentage proposition. It wasn’t all bad: Smith downed another Riley Dixon punt at the 4-yard line and Wil Lutz knocked home a 55-yard field goal on another clean place-kicking night, but the bad far outweighed the good.

COACHING — F

A perplexing sequence before the end of the first half: The Broncos started with the ball, backed up, and 41 seconds remaining. Head coach Sean Payton said after the game it called for being “pretty conservative.” But after a first-down screen went for minus-3, Denver rushed back to the line and snapped the ball with 23 seconds still left on the play clock and just 17 seconds left in the half. Incompletion. Then a third-down run that drew a quick Los Angeles timeout. Play aggressive or don’t — sitting on the ball would have been fine given Denver was up 11 and starting the second half with the ball — but that sequence played right into the Chargers’ hands. Combine it with abandoning the run game after two drives and another penalty filled night and it was not Payton and the coaching staff’s best night. Not by a long shot.

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Justin Strnad couldn’t believe the yellow laundry on the field.

He pleaded with the Thursday night officiating crew on the field after he was flagged for unnecessary roughness on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, but to no avail.

After the game, he tried to hold his tongue when asked about the critical third-quarter penalty that turned what would have been a fourth-and-4 at the Broncos’ 11-yard line into a first-and-goal at the 5 because Strnad made contact with Herbert while he was sliding down to the ground.

“I don’t really have any comment,” Strnad said after Denver’s 34-27 loss. “I don’t think it was a penalty, but, yeah.”

He just couldn’t quite help saying a little more.

“I think I barely hit him,” Strnad allowed. “He’s a huge quarterback, I’m getting ready to tackle him, he slides last second. I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do.”

Tough situation for a defender, isn’t it?

“I really don’t know what else to do in that situation,” he said.

Did the brutal hit Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence took a couple of weeks ago make referees quicker on the whistle?

“Again, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” he said.

Here’s what the Chargers did: They scored a touchdown one play after the penalty to draw within 24-19. It might have instead been 24-17. Or perhaps the Broncos get a fourth-down stop and retain a two-score lead.

Instead, Los Angeles drew within five. The Broncos offense went three-and-out.

The Chargers went back to work, mounting another touchdown drive featuring another three flags on the Broncos defense.

First, a 15-yard Jonathon Cooper horse collar tackle.

Then a Zach Allen offsides.

Then Dondrea Tillman offsides that the Chargers declined.

That drive ended in a 17-yard Justin Herbert completion to a wide-open Ladd McConkey and a 19-yard, off-balance missile to Derius Davis for a go-ahead touchdown.

“That go-ahead drive, what were there, three? Three penalties in the go-ahead drive,” head coach Sean Payton said. “It keeps continuing. We’ve got to do a better job coaching because it’s not like it’s new. And it’ll cost you. It’ll cost you games.”

Until that point, the Broncos had been in control of this game.

Then in the span of two touchdown drives, sandwiched around a do-nothing offensive possession, four defensive penalties crippled Denver’s defense.

“Just dumb (stuff) to let them back in the game at a point where we could have just finished it,” Allen told The Post. “You get a three-and-out and the offense keeps momentum going, and then you get to really pass-rush for two quarters. It’s tough to break it all down right after, but it’s like, somebody messed up here or there.

“It just was never like 11 guys did their job. There was always something, which you can’t do against a playoff team like that.”

The Broncos had seven accepted penalties on the night for 61 yards, including five for 51 from the final play of the first half onward. They had three others declined.

Denver entered Week 16 in the middle of the pack, tied for No. 14 in terms of penalties incurred (89) but with the eighth-most penalty yards (804).

“On defense, we play an aggressive style of defense, so when we get penalties on the back end and stuff like that, it’s something we kind of know (is going to happen) because we play so much man coverage,” defensive lineman Malcolm Roach said. “But it’s something we’ve got to clean up.”

On this night the back end of the defense didn’t draw any flags.

Yet, the issue proved pivotal in the Chargers going from down two scores to in full control.

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The Denver Broncos faced the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on December 19, 2024. Denver lost 34-27.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Hold your horses.

The Broncos saw the light. And the Chargers gave them thunder.

The Broncos are not yet playoff-bound for the first time since 2015. Their noses remain pressed up against the postseason window pane after a loss that was easier to hate than explain.

Broncos coach Sean Payton entered Thursday night with a directive, his own version of a seatbelt. On the top of his play sheet, the message screamed in capital letters: Run It!!!

It was the football equivalent of the popular saying, keep it simple, stupid. But at the end of the first half, the Broncos offense humming in a way not seen since the days of Peyton Manning, Payton got greedy. Jim Harbaugh got nerdy.

And so here we are: On to Cincinnati. The Broncos lost because of Dicker the Kicker and Hassan Haskins. The Chargers, despite trailing 21-10, despite giving up a touchdown on the Broncos’ first three possessions, were better.

It does not mean it will be true next season. Or in 2026. But it is an undeniable fact now. And that feels like 80,000 volts running through the veins of Broncos Country.

One decision by Payton and a single boot symbolized a Thursday night that will be forever remembered for failure if the Broncos don’t win one of their final two games against the Bengals and Chiefs.

It unfolded like this. The Broncos took over at their own 18-yard line with 41 seconds remaining in the first half following Kris Abrams-Draine’s interception of Justin Herbert. The sea of orange was cascading over them. They were taking over this stadium, with visions of someday winning the division. All the pieces of the rebuild were coming together like some magical puzzle. And then they fractured and scattered, like the dreams of so many aspiring actors in this city.

Bo Nix completed a pass to Javonte Williams. It went for minus-3 yards. That math should have told Payton to take off his headset and head to the locker room for a deep breath, water and a banana. Instead, he fell for the banana in the tailpipe. There is nothing more powerful than the male ego, and it got the best of Payton. Maybe the Chargers would have burned all of their timeouts. Maybe not. But the Broncos opened the door with a messy sequence.

He stayed aggressive on second-and-13 with Nix trying to connect with Williams after not huddling. It fell incomplete, saving the Chargers a timeout. Williams ran for 1-yard on third down as Harbaugh, who would say later he practiced this unlikely scenario, stopped the clock with eight seconds remaining.

It was to set up a return. Instead, it became a Secret Santa gift.

Just as Broncos Country was heading to the fridge for a break or to the concessions at SoFi Stadium, Riley Dixon punted 46 yards to the Chargers’ 38-yard line. Only a historian or comedian could fathom what would happen next. Tremon Smith, the Broncos’ best special teams player, brushed into returner Derius Davis on a fair catch.

Those last two words never seemed so illegal. By an obscure rule, the Chargers could elect to take a free kick after the 15-yard penalty with no time remaining. Never seen it work? No one had unless they were in attendance at a Chargers game in 1976 involving Ray Wersching.

After the 15 yards were marched off, Cameron Dicker set up for a 57-yard field goal attempt that looked like a kickoff. There was no rush. Just Dicker flanked by nine teammates and a holder, and well you know how this is going to end, don’t you?

He drilled it. What in the name of Doug Flutie’s dropkick for the Patriots just happened? Harbaugh insisted this was a situation the Chargers practiced, and given he just won a national championship at Michigan, the tendency is to believe him.

“Great football game. Let’s talk about Cam Dicker and the free kick. It’s my favorite rule in football. I have been trying to get one in every game. When Cameron Dicker made it, it got the momentum back,” Harbaugh said. “This was our chance. This was our moment (to try it).”

The score read 21-13. But it no longer felt right, like when you have that extra piece of pizza at lunch or a third cocktail during happy hour.

“We practice it all the time,” Payton said. “In that situation, the penalty put them in field-goal position. It’s disappointing.”

Suddenly, the Chargers had momentum that they had no right to own. And aside from the Broncos’ initial drive to steal back three points in the third quarter, the second half became a series of “you’ve got to be kidding me” moments. Denver produced 119 yards and six first downs in the second half, rushing for only 21 yards on eight carries after posting 89 in the first half. Spotty play-calling and too many penalties created a platform for Hebert to take over.

He made throws going to his left. He ran like he was being chased by cheetahs. He threw across his body. It was like he was in the Rose Bowl all over again. This night was supposed to be about a quarterback from Oregon. But not that one.

Herbert erased the deficit and shoved the Chargers ahead with a 19-yard scoring toss to Davis. Then came a two-point conversion that all but signaled that the Broncos were not going to win this game, clobbered over the head by reality like so many times over the last eight seasons.

He fired a dart into the middle of the field. It appeared linebacker Justin Strnad tipped it. Joshua Palmer definitely deflected it. To himself. For a toe-drag swag two-point conversion.

The Broncos, because the NFL demands one-score games, had an opportunity to tie the game, but fizzled at midfield with 9:48 remaining. They punted. That made sense. But unlike so many times this season, the defense could not save them.

Gus Edwards bolted for 43 yards. Then Haskins was left uncovered in the middle of the field on a shovel pass and raced 34 yards for a touchdown.

The Chargers were better. On a day when the Broncos offense put in the kind of first half effort that should have changed history, Denver was reminded that nothing comes easily for this franchise.

After 13 quarterbacks, five coaches and 146 games, they are still waiting to return to the postseason.

The odds remain in their favor. But why does it feel the same as getting struck by lightning?

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Initial thoughts from the Broncos’ 34-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16 at SoFi Stadium:

1. Self-inflicted wounds: As sheer pain goes, that Chiefs road game’s got a little company now. You don’t need to see the world with orange-and-blue glasses to notice that the Broncos gifted the Bolts at least nine points in the middle of the contest. You can’t do that on the road and not expect to get punished, and the presents turned what should’ve been a two-score game into a 24-19 Denver lead. The fair-catch field goal that ended the first half was curious enough. But Broncos linebacker Justin Strnad gave an L.A. drive midway through the third stanza life again when he appeared to ding a “defenseless” Justin Herbert following the QB’s third-down slide. Instead of fourth-and-6 at the Broncos 11, the soft flag on Strnad gave the Bolts a first-and-goal from the Denver 5. Gus Edwards’ TD on the next play fueled a 21-0 powder blue run that flipped the script.

2. Vanishing sacks: After a season of painting weekly masterpieces, Broncos DC Vance Joseph couldn’t draw himself a consistent path through the Chargers’ offensive line. With 3:20 left in the tilt, the Broncos, who came in averaging an NFL-best 3.5 sacks per game, had taken Justin Herbert down only twice. Worse yet, the cagey veteran seemed to find more comfort in the pocket the longer things went, despite playing with a high-tech brace on one ankle. The Bolts had given up the 10th-most sacks per game in the league (2.9) before Week 16, yet were able to somehow maximize Herbert’s one good leg to escape danger, slide away from pressure or, more often, utilize short, quick throws to stymie Denver’s rush. Drew Sanders’ A-gap sack in the fourth quarter looked mighty sweet. But man, was it rare.

3. Running to daylight: It felt like a very long time ago, by the end of the third quarter, but that Broncos start on the ground was a thing of pure beauty. Remember all the hand-wringing over Payton’s nonexistent run game in recent weeks? The Broncos came out of the gate with a point to prove, especially in the first quarter. Denver opened the tilt by piling up a playoff-worthy 64 yards over its first 10 carries and spread that love among five different ball-carriers. At the half, the Broncos had put up 89 rush yards on 13 totes — the kind of stat line that usually holds up well on the road in the postseason, assuming your defense holds up its end of the bargain. Alas, as we know, that last part fell through after halftime in all kinds of weird and painful ways.

4. Fair-catch kick weirdness: As much fun as Sean Payton was having with his call sheet in the first half, Jim Harbaugh got one back to steal the last word. An obscure rule gave the Chargers the option of kicking off or kicking a field goal as time expired at the Denver 47 because Broncos defensive back Tremon Smith was flagged for kick-catch interference at the L.A. 38. The half couldn’t end in a defensive penalty, so Harbaugh, down 21-10, elected to have Cameron Dicker attempt a 57-yard fair-catch kick out of a kickoff formation — and he nailed it, getting the hosts to within eight at the break. It was the first fair-catch kick make in the NFL since November 1976 — which was also made by a Chargers kicker — and the first make against the Broncos, who had attempted one themselves (it missed from 73 yards out) in 1980.

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Sean Payton never felt settled during the Broncos’ recent bye week.

He said he never fully does. A few days with the prospect of more work ahead isn’t long enough to truly decompress. And the task is even tougher when you’re trying to end an eight-year playoff drought.

As the Broncos returned to action ahead of a game against Indianapolis, he called out one area that he was particularly concerned about.

“Our penalty numbers are still problematic,” he said on Dec. 9. “I don’t like our penalties relative to the offensive line. We’re near the bottom of the league in that category. We’re in the bottom of the league relative to the secondary.

“Those have to get cleaned up or they’ll end up costing you.”

That costly moment arrived Thursday night in Los Angeles, helping to swing a dominant start for Denver to a 34-27 Chargers win.

The Broncos still need a win or a combination of losses from AFC foes over the final two weeks to make the postseason. The odds are still in their favor, but they had every chance to finish the job themselves at SoFi Stadium.

For quite a while it looked like they’d do just that after Bo Nix and company opened the game with three straight touchdown drives and built a 21-10 lead.

When the Broncos got the ball with 5 minutes left in the first half and that lead plus the prospect of starting the second half with the ball, they had full control of the game.

By the time halftime arrived, though, a critical penalty and a little-known rule started a Chargers avalanche.

The Broncos sent Riley Dixon on to punt with 8 seconds left in the first half after a late-half drive that went nowhere.

He hit a solid 46-yarder but Tremon Smith ran into Chargers return man Derius Davis, drawing a 15-yard penalty to move the ball to the Broncos’ 47-yard line.

That’s when Los Angeles took advantage of a little-used NFL rule and opted to try a fair catch free kick. It’s an option for teams after any fair catch but rarely used except for occasionally at the end of a half or game.

Cameron Dicker had time to line up the kick — the defense isn’t allowed to try to block it — and buried a 57-yarder to trim the halftime advantage to 21-13.

Denver actually mounted a 6-plus minute drive to open the third quarter and a 41-yard Wil Lutz field goal extended the lead briefly back to two scores, but by that time the Chargers had momentum.

Los Angeles star quarterback Justin Herbert led touchdown drives on each of the team’s first two second-half possessions, the second of which he finished with a ridiculous, off-balance throw to Davis up the left sideline. That plus a two-point conversion gave L.A. a 27-24 lead that it would not relinquish.

Herbert threw for 285 yards, with both of his touchdowns coming after halftime. He also made plays with his legs, including a critical 16-yard scramble on third-and-10 that got the Chargers out from their own 10-yard line and preceded a shovel pass to running back Hassan Haskins for a 34-yard touchdown that put Los Angeles ahead 34-24 with 2:27 left.

Now the playoff path gets greasy for the Broncos.

For the first part of the night they looked primed to sail to 10-5 and officially punch their ticket. Maybe run up the standings to as high as the No. 5 seed.

Instead, they still need a win — or losses from Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Miami — to break the NFL’s second-longest playoff-free streak. That won’t be easy on the road on Dec. 28 against a Bengals team that’s struggled but has elite offensive weaponry and a superstar quarterback in Joe Burrow. It certainly won’t be easy back home against Kansas City in Week 18, especially if the Chiefs need that game to hold off Buffalo for the AFC’s top seed.

The Broncos, though, have nobody to blame but themselves. They ran for 64 yards in a dominant first quarter but finished with just 110. They knew penalties had been a sore spot and yet were charged six times for 51 yards and had a couple of others declined.

The Chargers hadn’t rushed for more than 94 yards on the night but had 137 when they took the 10-point lead late.

The Broncos had given up only 91 second-half points on the season (6.5 per game) but surrendered 21 after halftime on this night.

A good, surprising start to a season or a game is one thing. The Broncos couldn’t finish Thursday night. They’ll have to prove they can at some point over the next two weeks.

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