To be a playoff team in the NFL, you have to find different ways to win games, and that includes games where the defense gives up big numbers to the opponent.

That was the position the Broncos found themselves in Monday night. They gave up an 11-point lead in the second half as the Browns rallied behind quarterback Jameis Winston and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. Winston threw for 497 yards and Jeudy, a former Bronco, set a record for Broncos opponents with 235 receiving yards, but their heroics won’t be the only lasting memories of the night.

Those memories include linebacker Nik Bonitto returning a first-half interception for a 71-yard touchdown and cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian’s diving interception with less than two minutes to play. McMillian fell down, got up and ran 44 yards for a touchdown, sealing a win that head coach Sean Payton called “by no means perfect” before noting that perfection wasn’t necessary.

“When we look at the tape again, we’re obviously going to look at a lot of things defensively that we have would have done it differentlyPayton said via the team’s website. “We have to. We had two interceptions for touchdowns and a third interception. I told them in the locker room it wasn’t nice and in the end we did what we had to do, especially late.”

The win moved the Broncos to 8-5 and a playoff spot firmly in hand heading into the bye week, two things far nicer than the effort that got them there.