The Denver Broncos entered Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers on a three-game winning streak. After topping the Tampa Bay Bay Buccaneers 26-7 on Sept. 22, the Broncos beat the New York Jets 10-9 on Sept. 29 even though quarterback Bo Nix had minus-7 passing yards and Denver trailed 6-0 at halftime. In last week’s 34-18 win over Las Vegas, the Broncos spotted the Raiders a 10-point lead in the first quarter.

Against the Chargers, Denver fell behind again, and this time, the Broncos couldn’t overcome the deficit as Los Angeles posted a 23-16 victory in an AFC West game. But they gave it run.

“The morale of the story: We just got to protect the ball in the first half,” Nix said, “and then we’ll do better in the second if we can get in that rhythm faster.”

A former Pinson Valley High School and Auburn standout, Nix completed 3-of-10 passes for 22 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in the first half as the Chargers built a 20-point lead, and the Broncos were still scoreless entering the fourth quarter.

That’s when Denver ran off the game’s final 16 points and failed twice on an onside kick with 59 seconds left to keep the comeback going.

“Bo made a few plays with his feet and with his arm,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said, “trying to get back in it as fastly as we can. It’s tough when you put yourself in that much of a hole.”

In the fourth quarter, Nix completed 15-of-19 passes for 189 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and ran three times for 21 yards.

“It’s not easy looking at the scoreboard, seeing the deficit,” Nix said. “I thought our guys continued to battle and battle and battle despite the situation, despite maybe missing another opportunity or getting off the field again and you have to restart. It’s tough, but I think that’s our team. That’s the kind of team we have. We have a very determined, hard-working team. We’re able to get down and continue to fight. Not every game’s going to be easy. You’re not going to blow every team out. Sometimes you get knocked down early and you got to find a way to gut it out at the end.

“The fact that we gave ourselves a chance there at the end to have another opportunity says a lot about our team, and I’m excited about this team. I know today wasn’t what we wanted, but I feel like we’re headed in the right direction with how we finished the game.”

With the Broncos trailing 23-0, Nix had a 37-yard completion on a fourth-and-2 snap, then on the next play completed an eight-play, 95-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Troy Franklin with 10:06 remaining.

After a three-and-out by the Chargers, Nix scrambled for 6 yards on a fourth-and-5 snap, then on the next play capped an eight-play, 64-yard series with a 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Courtland Sutton with 5:22 to play. The Broncos were left with a 23-13 deficit when the 2-point conversion pass went incomplete.

Denver got the football back for the final time with 2:26 remaining. When Nix scrambled for a 21-yard gain to the Los Angeles 22-yard line, Payton immediately sent Wil Lutz on the field for a field goal that brought the Broncos within seven with 59 seconds remaining.

Lutz’s first onside kick did not go the required 10 yards. But he got another chance because of an illegal-formation penalty against the Chargers. Lutz’s second attempt went out of bounds, allowing Los Angeles to kneel out the clock.

“It picked up when we started going uptempo, and when you’re behind, you’re getting different coverage looks,” Payton said. “… In the fourth quarter, fortunately, we were able to make some plays down the field, but I think the game was in a different position at that point. But, look, we fought to get back in it.”

The Broncos play the New Orleans Saints at 7:15 p.m. CDT Thursday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Prime Video will televise the game.

“I think our team is excited,” Nix said. “I think if we could practice tonight, we would. We’d go back out there. We got a bad taste in our mouth. Just didn’t perform how we want, but we feel like the fight was there. When you get back in the locker room and some guys hang their heads oftentimes when you get in this situation. People start bad-mouthing, talking. There was none of that in our locker room. Everybody had their heads up. Looked like they were focused on next week. Looked like they wanted to get out there as soon as possible, so it’s good that we get to play in four days. It’s going to be tough on us, but we’ve got a quick turnaround. I think we’re going to handle it well.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.