After wild MNF win vs. Browns, Broncos believe special season is brewing: “We’re playing for something” 

Parts of this film review will not be pretty.

Browns receiver Jerry Jeudy treating Broncos defenders like chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

Denver quarterback Bo Nix hoisting a first-play interception in the fourth quarter when the Broncos really needed to try to squeeze some time off the clock.

“That was my fault,” head coach Sean Payton said afterward. “That call wasn’t good.”

There will be a time and a place for corrections — lots of corrections — when Payton’s team returns from its bye week.

But that matters only to a degree. In part because of the time off and in part because of the bottom-line result — a 41-32 Monday night win over Cleveland — the Broncos will be spared too much sting despite a litany of mistakes.

For all of the twists and turns during a wild three-plus hours in prime time, there is one fairly simple takeaway: The Broncos believe this team has something special brewing.

“Last year, there’s no way we’re winning this game,” defensive lineman Zach Allen told The Denver Post. “A win is a win and it’s hard to win in this league. But our standard is high and Monday when we get back in (after the bye), it will definitely be very constructive.”

Several players shared that sentiment after winning their third straight.

They’ll host Indianapolis on Dec. 15 sporting an 8-5 record and comfortably in the playoff field. They’re closer to moving up from the No. 7 seed than from falling out of the picture entirely. They’ve got a stretch run that features games against the Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati and Kansas City.

January football is on the menu for this team. And players find themselves straddling a line between relishing that they’re in the midst of breaking through as a program and also understanding that it will take more than good vibes to see just how far they can take this particular ride.

“At the end of the day, (wins) are the most important stat,” Allen said. “They don’t ask you how, they ask how many. We just have a high standard and there was too much of a rollercoaster tonight. We’ll get it fixed.

“That’s a good team. I know people want to say — that’s a playoff team a year ago and it’s the same team together. I think they got the quarterback situation figured out. Jameis (Winston) has been a really good player in this league and maybe if they went to him earlier they’d have had a better shot.”

Indeed, in recent weeks the Browns have knocked off Baltimore and Pittsburgh — two teams the Broncos lost to earlier in the season and are looking up at in the postseason standings.

More often than not through 13 weeks, though, this team has found a way. It did so when Nix threw for minus-7 yards in the first half in the Week 4 rain on the East Coast and did so when Winston threw for 497 yards on Monday night. They’ve won games of different shapes and sizes.

They’ve won games, quite simply, that this club has lost in recent years.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our team and just where we’re going,” outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper said. “I feel like it’s really important that we get our rest this bye week and come back and look at the film and keep it rolling. …

“We’ve got a tough team here. We’ve got a tough team all across the board, from the back end to the front end. We all play for each other. I think that’s the key: We play for each other, we care about each other. We’re playing for something.”

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