Blocked FG seals win for Denver

Shelby Harris got a hand on Younghoe Koo’s 44-yard field goal attempt with a second left, and the Broncos began the Vance Joseph era with a 24-21 win over the Chargers on Monday night in Denver.

Moments earlier, Koo had nailed the kick, but Joseph called a timeout to ice the kicker.

On the re-do, Harris — who made the team because of a rash of injuries along the D-line — sliced through and got his right hand on the kick.

It was reminiscent of last year’s opener, when the Broncos escaped with a 21-20 win over the Carolina Panthers when Graham Gano missed a 50-yard field goal with 4 seconds left.

Denver took a 24-7 lead into the fourth quarter but had two turnovers that were converted into touchdowns, a missed field goal and a punt.

Before those fourth-quarter foibles, Trevor Siemian threw two TD passes to Bennie Fowler and ran for another score.

The Broncos held Philip Rivers to 115 yards passing through three quarters but let him engineer a comeback when Siemian threw an interception and Jamaal Charles fumbled on plays that were upheld despite video evidence that had the crowd of 76,324 convinced they should have been overturned.

Vikings 29, Saints 19

In Minneapolis, Sam Bradford started his second season with Minnesota in style, passing for 346 yards and three touchdowns to help the Vikings beat New Orleans and spoil Adrian Peterson’s first game with the Saints.

Stefon Diggs had seven receptions for 93 yards, two for scores, and Adam Thielen racked up 157 yards on nine catches as Bradford carved up a Saints defense that looked again like one of the worst in the league despite a major renovation.

Rookie Dalvin Cook rushed for 127 yards in the formal takeover from Peterson.