Broncos defeat Chargers in 24-21 thriller: Denver wins its season opener when L.A.’s last-play field goal is blocked.

The stadium rocked until almost midnight, with the mile-high thunder rumbling at 112 decibels. Broncos Country stayed up late to relieve that pent-up orange, festering inside since Denver missed the playoffs last season. And what better way to get the ya-yas out than yelling at old nemesis Philip Rivers?

Denver held on to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 24-21 on Monday. Shelby Harris reached up with his right hand to block a 44-yard field-goal attempt by Younghoe Koo in the final five seconds of the fourth quarter. Go ahead, you can exhale now. But get used to the nervous tension. Nothing will come easy for this team.

“It wasn’t clean, but it was good to win,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said. “It’s a hard league.”

The NFL scheduled an 8:15 p.m. kickoff for the final game of opening weekend, which seemed cruel and unusual punishment for Denver, ich

regards football as somewhere between air and water as essential to life.

By blowing nearly all of a 17-point lead, the Broncos did not allay many fears. But they did check some boxes.

After one game as a head coach, Joseph is undefeated. Yes, late-game management could use some work. But he refused to let his team panic. And he iced the L.A. kicker with a timeout. Check.

Quarterback Trevor Siemian generally looked comfortable operating an offense designed for Paxton Lynch, throwing for 219 yards and two touchdowns, while running for another score. Check.

A Denver defense whose greatness had been tarnished by weakness against the run made a statement as loud as the crushing tackle that linebacker Todd Davis put on running back Melvin Gordon on fourth-and-1 to snuff out a Chargers drive early in the fourth quarter. Check.

Rookie Garett Bolles, the first-round draft choice and centerpiece of a rebuilt offensive line, was thrown in the fire against L.A. defensive end Joey Bosa, one of the fiercest pass rushers on the planet. Check? Well, not quite. Let’s generously call Bolles a work in progress. At least he was better than fellow tackle Menelik Watson, so bad in pass protection I had Michael Schofield flashbacks.

In all the league, no fan base is sunnier with optimism than Broncos Country. Maybe it’s the blue Colorado skies forever. Or the three Super Bowl rings won by Denver since Pat Bowlen purchased the team in 1984.

But this year feels different. More uncertain. Few outside the Broncos huddle, with the possible exception of John Elway, truly believes this team is championship material. Is anybody drinking the orange Kool-Aid? The vibe I got from fans was definitely a glass half full, but perhaps filled with vodka, for courage.

There was David Litzau, a true-blue Broncos fanatic, who told me the team would win 11 games, linebacker Von Miller would be named defensive player of the year and Siemian would throw for 3,600 yards and 24 touchdowns. But, at the same time, Keith Wyatt of Henderson spoke for many nervous fans by predicting: “Brock Osweiler replaces Siemian after a 1-4 start” for a team that would struggle to establish an offensive identity. While Shantay Simoni of Brighton counted on a “Cry Me a Rivers” victory in the home opener, she also worried “The AFC West is so tough, it’s questionable to make the playoffs.”

Is Denver ready for prime time? Who knows? With kickoff after 10 p.m. on the East Coast, folks in New York City were asleep by the time Denver took a 24-7 lead into the fourth quarter. A Siemian interception and a fumble by Jamaal Charles, however, gave the Chargers not one mulligan but two.

“The game was in firm control for about three quarters and we felt good,” Joseph said. “But you turn the ball over twice, on the short side of the 50 (yard line), and it’s going to be a problem with Philip Rivers.”

Rivers rallied the Chargers to a strong position to force overtime on L.A.’s final offensive possession. Koo lined up for a field goal well within his range. But it was the same result as the season opener a year ago, when thenDenver coach Gary Kubiak iced Carolina kicker Graham Gano, whose 50-yard field goal was wiped out by a timely timeout.

Are these Broncos good? Or lucky? It’s a new season. But the old questions linger for a team that will make it hard to sleep at night.