DENVER — The Broncos’ wild Monday Night Football showdown with the Browns ultimately comes down to a series of numbers.

Sure, Cleveland’s yardage totals will likely grab headlines, as Browns quarterback Jameis Winston and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy’s stats were gaudy.

But in a difficult, gritty win that moved Denver to 8-5 on the season, wide receiver Courtland Sutton knows that only one area of ​​the box score matters:

“We fought,” Sutton said. “We had a fight that lasted four quarters. And at the end of the day we had more points than them at the end of the game and that’s all that really matters. A large part of our character had to be shown (and) was allowed to be exhibited today.

A weaker team might have given up. The Broncos had a double-digit lead, and the Browns were able to fight back every time. After the Broncos turned the ball over early in the fourth quarter, Winston and the Browns marched down the field and scored the go-ahead.

It didn’t matter. Denver responded with a “big boy drive” – as quarterback Bo Nix later called it – and took the lead for good. Denver’s defense then sealed the game by taking advantage of two late Winston passes.

“I told them in the locker room it wasn’t pretty,” head coach Sean Payton said, “and yet we ended up doing what we had to do, especially late.”

Payton said he was “proud of the way we fought,” and that desire was evident throughout Monday night’s game.

“We have a strong team here,” said outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper. “We have a strong team across the board, from back to front. We all play for each other. I think that’s the key. We play for each other. We care about each other. We’re playing for something.”

After finding a way to pull out a difficult win, the Broncos may soon be playing for something even bigger. Denver enters the bye week with two fewer losses than the next closest team in the Wild Card standings, and the Broncos’ eight wins are tied with the other two existing Wild Card teams, the Chargers and Ravens.