The Broncos’ offense experienced a scoring breakthrough in Sunday’s 38-24 win over the Houston Texans.

And so did right tackle Ja’Wuan James — his 31-snap first-half appearance came and went without incident (another left knee injury).

Per The Denver Post’s game charting, James’ play was clean. No penalties. No allowed quarterback disruptions. No “bad” run blocks.

“I was just trying to go in there and knock the rust off,” he said. “I need to get used to it a little bit.”

James admitted a barrier was crossed by returning after being injured against Oakland on Sept. 9 (10 snaps) and Indianapolis on Oct. 27 (22 snaps).

“For sure … hopefully mentally,” he said. “I came back last time and got injured right away so I was happy to be back out there with my brothers and contributing.”

James was motivated and encouraged by his offensive line teammates during his two rehabilitation periods.

“Honestly, just watching how they work and how they’re building this season, I wanted to be a part of that and help,” he said. “Especially (right guard) Ron Leary. He dealt with his (Achilles) injury last year and he’s talked to me constantly, saying, ‘We’ve got your back. We need you back and want you back, but take your time and do what you have to do.’”

James was listed as a limited practice participant from Nov. 13-15 (Minnesota Week) and Nov. 20-22 (Buffalo Week), but did not play. The intrigue — or mystery — of his status became muddled when he was announced as a full practice participant from Nov. 27-29 (Chargers Week), but was inactive on game day.

Asked after the Chargers game if he and offensive line coach Mike Munchak were becoming frustrated with James’ inactivity, coach Vic Fangio side-stepped the question and said: “We expect him to be ready to play (against Houston).”

James was listed as questionable but started against the Texans, the plan being he would play the first half and Eljiah Wilkinson would play the second half.

A look at five selected plays from James’ game:

Play 1 (first-and-10, Broncos’ 8): Offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello challenged James right away. At the snap, Lock rolled to James’ side before throwing in 3.44 seconds to tight end Noah Fant for a 48-yard gain. James showed a good kick step and hand placement against Texans outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus.

Play 2 (first-and-10, Texans’ 44): James’ only semi-negative play. He reached the second level on a Phillip Lindsay run play, but whiffed on inside linebacker Zach Cunningham, who helped limit Lindsay to a three-yard gain.

Play 4 (first-and-10, Texans’ 12): James was initially engaged with defensive end Angelo Blackson, but when end D.J. Reader got free to his outside, James kept his left hand on Blackson and put his right hand on Reader to serve as a mini-speed bump. Lindsay’s 12-yard touchdown catch was wiped out by a questionable blocking in-the-back penalty on left tackle Garett Bolles.

Play 18 (first and 10, Broncos’ 37): Lindsay gained eight yards up the middle and Blackson was blocked to the turf by James while trying to knife inside.

Play 20 (first-and-10, Texans’ 49): A well-designed play by Scangarello. At the snap, Fant blocked outside linebacker Brennan Scarlett. James was engaged in a double team with right guard Austin Schlottmann. When Fant released — becoming wide open — to a run a short route, James fanned out to account for Scarlett.

In summarization: Aside from a chip block by tight end Troy Fumagalli, the Broncos trusted James to go solo as a pass protector. … They were generally conservative in not asking him to get downfield to make a block on plays like a screen pass. … Despite the knee injury, he showed good mobility.

“He was fine,” Fangio said. “He played a pretty good half. Not perfect, but, again, more positive than negative.”

Can the next step for James be a full game Sunday at Kansas City?

“We’ll see how that goes this week,” Fangio said. “I think he can be extended more. We’ll see to what degree.”

James said his conditioning “wasn’t too bad — practicing in the altitude definitely helps.” His goal for the final three games: Stay healthy and establish a foundation for 2020.

“I want to end the season feeling I’m 100 percent ready to go so we can get ready to roll (next year),” he said.

The Broncos need James to roll. They signed him to a four-year, $51 million contract to solidify the right tackle position that was a revolving door for several seasons. Sunday’s game against Houston was a productive start.