DENVER — For three minutes and 32 seconds Sunday, the Broncos played near-perfect football. 

Trailing the Chiefs 27-0 in the second quarter, the Broncos nearly completed the largest comeback in franchise history. Josey Jewell and Pat Surtain II intercepted arguably the best quarterback in the world, Patrick Mahomes. Jerry Jeudy looked like the first-round pick they drafted three years ago, scoring two of his three touchdowns in that span. Russell Wilson played like the $245 million he’s being paid to play quarterback, finding open receivers and scrambling for first downs like the Wilson of old. 

And for the first time this season, the Broncos looked like a competent football team. In three minutes and 32 seconds of game play, the Broncos had cut the deficit to 27-21 in the third quarter. 

“Down 27-0, everybody had a choice on how they wanted to continue that game,” coach Nathaniel Hackett said. “And I’m so impressed with all those guys — defense, offense, special teams. They didn’t blink.”

Unfortunately for Denver, that wasn’t enough.

The Broncos (3-10) hung around with the Super-Bowl favorite Chiefs (10-3) in the second half until Wilson left in the fourth quarter with a concussion. Even then, backup quarterback Brett Rypien was able to make it a 34-28 game with 10:54 remaining, throwing Jeudy his third touchdown reception. But the offense was unable to muster any points after that, falling to the Chiefs for a 14th consecutive time. 

“The goal is to win. We all know that,” Hackett said. “But we want to win the game. We had a chance to, but I’ll tell you, the fight that these guys had is awesome.” 

The Broncos’ 14-game losing streak ties a franchise record dating back to a 14-game losing streak to the Raiders from 1965-1971. It also ties an NFL record for a divisional losing streak, tying the Bills’ 14-game losing streak to the Patriots from 2003-2010. 

And despite being down 27-0, the Broncos thought this could be the day the streak finally ended. 

“Yeah, I did (believe),” said Surtain, who had his first interception of the season Sunday. “We were in it until the last couple seconds. A couple plays could change the outcome of this game. As a team collectively, this is probably one of our best performances all around as a group.” 

From the 2:53 mark in the second quarter when Jewell intercepted Mahomes until the 12:16 mark in the fourth quarter when Wilson left with a concussion, it was the best football the Broncos have played this season. 

The defense got stops, with Jewell coming up with two interceptions and defensive end Dre’Mont Jones and outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper each having a sack. And the offense was the most efficient it’s been all season, thanks in large part to a gutsy performance by Wilson and Jeudy having a career day.

“I feel like everybody just executed on offense,” said Jeudy, who had eight receptions for 73 yards and three touchdowns. “The o-line did a good job blocking, quarterback made the right read, and I ran a great route to make those plays work.” 

For Wilson, he had his best performance as a Bronco, going 23 of 36 for 247 yards, three touchdowns and one interception — which was a costly one, as it was returned 47 yards for a touchdown by Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay. He also led the team in rushing with 57 yards. For the first time this season, after throwing the pick-six, Wilson consistently looked like the nine-time Pro Bowler the Broncos traded for.

And his toughness was on full display, taking a beating with six sacks and continuing to play until he was literally knocked out of the game. 

“He was putting his body on the line,” Rypien said. “We’re 3-9. They’re 9-3. And the guy’s out there battling his ass off to try to win the game. That to me is somebody I want to follow.”

Denver was officially eliminated from the playoffs with Sunday’s loss, though, they’ve been realistically out of the hunt for several weeks. And while they have fallen well short of their season goals, the Broncos should take some solace in their performance against the Chiefs. 

There are no moral victories in football, as Broncos safety and team captain Justin Simmons astutely pointed out after the game. But Sunday is something they can build on, whether it’s the defense finally forcing key turnovers or Jeudy looking like the elite receiver he has the potential to be or Wilson playing high-level and gritty football, which is something Broncos Country has been desperate to see all season. 

And that might be the biggest takeaway from Sunday’s loss. Sure, the streak continues. And sure, the Broncos still have a lot of issues. But if Wilson, the offense and the defense can play like they did over that three-minute, 32-second stretch, maybe there is hope for this team in the coming years. 

“You have to emphasize the finish,” Hackett said. “We have to keep working. That’s what we’re here to do — win football games. We’re all here to work together and grow together. There’s been a lot of adversity this year. And you have a choice — you can get angry about the adversity, or utilize it to grow. And as a team, we have to grow. 

“It’s not just about one year. It’s about continuous years over and over that you want to be great.”

Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson is tackled by Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark in the fourth quarter after Wilson ran for a first down. Wilson got a concussion on the play and was out for the rest of the game. The Broncos lost to the Chiefs 34-28. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)

Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson is tackled by Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark in the fourth quarter after Wilson ran for a first down. Wilson got a concussion on the play and was out for the rest of the game. The Broncos lost to the Chiefs 34-28. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)

Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson is helped off the field in the fourth quarter after Wilson ran for a first down. He got a concussion on the play and was out for the rest of the game. The Broncos lost to the Chiefs 34-28.

Jerilee Bennett, the gazette