Parts of this film review will not be pretty.

Browns receiver Jerry Jeudy treats the Broncos’ defenders like chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

Denver quarterback Bo Nix threw a first-play interception in the fourth quarter when the Broncos really needed to try and buy some time.

“That was my fault,” head coach Sean Payton said afterwards. “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’s only important to a certain extent. Partly because of the timeout and partly because of the final result – a 41-32 win Monday night over Cleveland – the Broncos will be spared too many problems despite a litany of mistakes.

For all the twists and turns during the wild three-plus hours of prime time, there’s one pretty simple takeaway: The Broncos believe there’s something special going on with this team.

“Last year it was impossible for us to win 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 level is high and when we come back on Monday (after the bye), it will definitely be very constructive.”

Several players shared that sentiment after winning their third straight.

They host Indianapolis on December 15th with a record of 8-5 and are comfortably in the playoff field. They are closer to moving up from number 7 than disappearing from the picture entirely. They have had a long run that includes games against the Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati and Kansas City.

Football is on the agenda for this team in January. And the players are walking a fine line between being excited that they’re about to break through as a program and understanding that it’ll take more than good vibes to see how far they can take this particular journey.

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

“This is a good team. I know people want to say, “This is a playoff team from a year ago and it’s the same team together.” I think they have the quarterback situation figured out. Jameis (Winston) was a really good player in this league and if they had gone to him sooner they might have had a better chance.”

In fact, in recent weeks, the Browns have beaten Baltimore and Pittsburgh – two teams the Broncos lost to earlier in the season and who are moving up in the postseason standings.