The thought swirled through my head - and probably yours, too - at the end of the third quarter, with Denver gripping a slippery 27-17 lead over the New York Jets .

Fourth quarter. Time for Brett Favre to reach into his 18-year-old bag of NFL magic tricks, right?

Well, Denver cornerback Karl Paymah swipes away a fourth-down Favre pass. Then Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler hooks up with Brandon Stokley on a third-down, 36-yard touchdown pass.

Denver leads 34-17 with less than 10 minutes remaining and holds on for the win.

What, you worry? There are no worries when talking about the AFC West-leading Broncos - by three games over the San Diego Chargers , who lost 22-16 at home to the Atlanta Falcons.

OK, so you do worry. Up three with four games left in the regular season, the schizophrenic Broncos showed their good side against the Jets. But there's still a baffling, bumbling characteristic about this team that is hard to shake.

It's the characteristic that made you think those 17 first-quarter points against the Jets - the most scored by Denver in an opening period since Sept. 26, 2005, against Kansas City - might not be enough.

But you weren't aware that the Broncos haven't lost a game when they've scored 17 or more in the first quarter since Sept. 4, 1994, against San Diego.

The Broncos made the most of two Jets turnovers, cashing in a fumble and interception for touchdowns. The interception, by cornerback Dre Bly, was only the fifth this season by Denver's defense. But it was big.

And a third-quarter sack of Favre was the first by Denver's defense in 116 pass attempts. But sackless streaks seem overrated when teams win, and the Broncos have won three of their past four games in November - all on the road.

With the victory over New York, the Broncos (7-5) have matched their win total of last season. Now it's December, and Denver has gone 20-16 in the month since 2000.

The Broncos have a 14-2 record at home in December since '00, and both losses were by a field goal. On Sunday, Denver gets the 2-10 Chiefs, with a chance to gain revenge for an embarrassing 33-19 loss at Arrowhead Stadium in September.

For the third consecutive road game, we've seen Denver display tremendous heart and poise. It's safe to say Bronco Fan would love to see the same effort in games at Invesco Field at Mile High.

Three games ahead in the division, with the 2-10 Chiefs coming to town. If it were college, this would be homecoming week for the Broncos.

But it's not college. For Denver, which grabbed the NFL's attention with Sunday's win over the Jets, it's a chance to prove it can handle an opponent with a lesser record at home.

And it's a great opportunity to strengthen the sleeper hold on the defending division- champion Chargers.

Don't blow it, Broncos.