Bridgewater’s return from injury a testament to…

As the team headed to the locker room, uncertainty about Bridgewater’s chances turned to hope.

“Coming in off the field, I didn’t know,” Fangio said. “Going back out, I knew he was going to give it a chance. We were on defense first, so he was going to run around and take some drops and see how it felt. I said if he feels good and he says he can go, we’ll go with him.”

For quite a long time, as the Chargers marched down the field on a seven-minute drive, Bridgewater got that opportunity and made his decision.

“I’m just really psyching myself [up],” Bridgewater said. “Just reassuring myself that I can get out there and, ‘You can do this.’ I just want to be out there for the guys. They work so hard throughout the week, we get so little opportunities, so it’s just an opportunity for me to finish this game and help us come away with the win.”

Midway through the third quarter, Bridgewater returned to the huddle for Denver’s first possession of the half. After a short run, a holding penalty and two incomplete passes, he headed back to the sideline, surely ready for another possession and another chance. Another seven-minute Chargers drive later, he’d have that chance, and this time, he and the Broncos wouldn’t be denied.

Bridgewater helped move the sticks three times to get Denver down the field, finding Courtland Sutton and Javonte Williams for two third-down conversions, and then Williams took a swing pass 42 yards to get Denver into the red zone.

Facing third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Bridgewater faked a handoff and ran to his right. An unblocked Joey Bosa sprinted directly at him, but Bridgewater — who surely wasn’t feeling as nimble as he was on his earlier touchdown run — swept him aside with a stiff-arm and extended the play long enough to throw a dart to tight end Eric Saubert for the score.

“We never question his toughness,” Saubert said. “That guy, he does it all and he pushes through a lot. He’s been doing it all season. I think it just speaks to the type of guy and player he is. Hats off to him finishing that out.”

A few minutes later, the Broncos essentially clinched the game as Pat Surtain II returned an interception for a touchdown, which pushed Denver’s lead to 21 points.

By the game’s end, the Broncos bathed in their big win over a division rival and onlookers and analysts began to turn their attention to the Broncos’ next game — a duel with the Chiefs in Kansas City for the division lead.

“It’s a great feeling, but we got work to do,” Bridgewater said. “We have seven days until the next opportunity to go out and compete, so we got to make sure that we’re maximizing and winning each day leading up to that game.”

Until then, he and his teammates will have the time to do the necessary preparation and the chance to heal, but at least for the immediate aftermath, all the wounds of the day don’t feel so bad at all.

“When you win, it doesn’t really matter what you’re going through,” Bridgewater said. “You feel good. I feel good right now. We’ll see how I feel when I wake up in the morning.”