HOUSTON — His quarterback was starting on the road for the first time. His play-calling had been under constant scrutiny. And his offensive line was without its right guard and had a platoon at right tackle.

So, naturally, Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello called his best game of the season.

Ten players caught at least one pass, rookie Drew Lock was nearly lights-out and the offensive line again held up, allowing the Broncos to race to a 35-point lead over the Houston Texans in an eventual 38-24 upset win.

The key?

“We knew we had to come out and get after these guys and not hope to win, but try to win and throw it around and have a good mix of run-pass,” coach Vic Fangio said.

Get after the Texans? Check. The Broncos led 21-0 (including a defensive touchdown) less than three minutes into the second quarter.

Try, not hope, to win? Check. The offense didn’t let up. Leading 31-3 at halftime, they marched 57 yards on eight plays to start the second half instead of sitting on the advantage.

Throw it around? Check. Scangarello put the football in Lock’s hands (22 of 27 for 309 yards and three touchdowns) and let him make plays.

Run-pass mix? Check. The Broncos had 27 rushes and 27 passes.

The Broncos’ offensive performance, coupled with three takeaways on defense, equaled the most complete of their five wins this year. Yes, more than the 16-0 win over Tennessee because, well, Houston has quarterback Deshaun Watson and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

“Everybody was feeding off each other,” receiver Courtland Sutton said. “It was a constant energy cycle.”

Credit Lock for delivering the type of B12 shot many expected when he was promoted to starter before last week’s win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Against the Texans, he showed poise, athleticism, vision and arm strength. His second start was better than his first, which should be the case.

“(Bleeping) guy is a rock star,” outside linebacker Von Miller said. “He’s on his way. I love that guy. He’s incredible.”

Credit safety Kareem Jackson for a tour de force game in his return to Houston, where he played the previous nine years. He returned a first-quarter fumble 70 yards for a touchdown, delivered a thundering hit on Hopkins, later intercepted a pass by Watson and finished with 11 tackles.

“We were all playing for him,” cornerback Chris Harris said.

And credit Scangarello, whose offense set season highs in points, third-down rate (63% — 5 of 8) and red-zone efficiency (80% — 4 of 5). The Broncos’ 391 yards, 301 net passing yards and 22 first downs were their second-highest totals of the year.

“I felt Rich called an amazing game,” center Connor McGovern said. “He was switching plays up, he had a good guess on how they would attack us and did a really good job at countering that. I think this was his best-called game. The variety of plays were great. It was really fun.”

The fun started right away. Lock’s pass to tight end Noah Fant gained 48 yards on the first play. Fant (14 yards), tight end Jeff Heuerman (eight yards) and running back Royce Freeman (three yards) had touchdown catches. Running back Phillip Lindsay’s one-yard touchdown run gave the Broncos a 38-3 lead with 9:15 left in the third quarter.

“(Scangarello) called an awesome game,” Lock said. “We had it dialed in. Props to him for that game plan.” Related Articles Kiszla: At this point in storied NFL career, is old Tom Brady any better than Broncos journeyman Jeff Driskel?

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And, honestly, props to the entire Broncos team and coaches. They are 5-4 since their dumpster-fire-of-a-start (0-4) and blown last-minute leads to Chicago and Jacksonville. It’s natural to think what this month could really mean if either or both of those two September games would have been closed out.

“You can’t do that,” defensive end Shelby Harris said. “That’s a waste of time in this league. It’s about what you’ve done, not what you could’ve done. But it’s encouraging. We want to try and get to 8-8.”

The Broncos were the first team to open training camp (July 17), but the debut of Lock and the performance of players like Sutton, Jackson, safety Justin Simmons and linebacker Alexander Johnson will propel them to the finish line with games against Kansas City, Detroit and Oakland. Momentum doesn’t really carry from one season to the next, but it can when the starting point is a young quarterback.

“These guys have played their (rear ends) off from an effort, focus, try-hard (standpoint),” Fangio said. “I’m really happy to see them get rewarded.”