During the Broncos’ 17th offensive battle on Sunday afternoon, they finally pulled off a simple feat.

They found themselves on the Los Angeles Chargers side of midfield for the first time.

The 45-meter line, to be precise.

But instead of chugging along, running back Javonte Williams fumbled and Denver’s first real promise was whiffed before it had a chance to develop.

So did the Broncos’ chances a few minutes later, when Los Angeles hammered home a backbreaker of a touchdown with a minute left in the first half.

The Chargers dominated the first 30 minutes so thoroughly that the final score of 23-16 in their favor didn’t really tell the story.

This series did it.

“We did everything you can’t do in a game like this,” head coach Sean Payton said. “We knew what kind of match it would be. We turned it over twice in the first half. That earned points. Then you look at the moment of ownership when you do that. They played the ball better than us. We attacked late in the game.”

The Broncos defense, playing without Pat Surtain II (concussion), leaked oil for the first time this season. The Chargers offense happily went full throttle in terms of pace and precision on a pair of scoring drives that lasted 20 and 11 plays respectively.

In between, the Denver offense didn’t help anything.

“We can’t start slow,” right guard Quinn Meinerz said flatly. “Our execution in the first half was nowhere near what we are capable of.”

During the 3-3 start to the season, a slow start has been the frustrating norm.

To stay anywhere near the postseason picture going forward, Denver will have to figure out a way to do something, anything offensively in the first thirty minutes.

They marred this beautiful Front Range afternoon by not only holding up early and often, but also turning the ball over twice in five possessions.

Rookie quarterback Bo Nix was intercepted on Denver’s third play of the game — appropriately, a third-and-long — and Williams later fumbled.

“We didn’t run enough plays in a row to get into a rhythm,” Nix said. “It was a few plays and you were off the field. In a game like that, where you know they have control of the ball, you have to find ways to stay on the field.”

The coach and quarterback could have tried to find solace in a fourth quarter full of empty calories, but instead they largely avoided it.

“Let’s be honest, it picked up when we started going up-tempo and (we were) behind,” Payton said. “You get a different coverage look. … The game was in a different position at that point.”

Nix through three quarters was 4 of 14 for 27 yards and a pick. The Broncos offense had 88 total yards and five first downs compared to the Chargers’ 321 and 20.

Leading a pair of long fourth-quarter touchdown drives against soft coverage and defense, Nix completed 15 of 19 for 189 yards and two touchdowns. The Broncos gained 230 yards to Los Angeles’ 29.

But make no mistake: Denver’s offense spent the first half kicking the bucket, digging a hole so deep they had no real chance to climb out.

That happens sometimes in the NFL, but the problem here is the frequency with which it happened to the Broncos this fall.

They have had the ball 36 times in the first half in six games and have failed to generate a first down half of the time.

They scored two early touchdowns against Tampa Bay in Week 3 and otherwise have one offensive touchdown in five other first halves.

They were eliminated three times in six games in the first half.

Take away the fast start against the Bucs and the Broncos have had the ball 30 times, scored one touchdown and failed to record a first down 17 times.

They were among the worst teams in the NFL overall on third down and are somehow even worse early than late, shooting just 9 of 41 in the first half (22%).

Nix cannot escape the ugliness either.

He lit the Bucs for 169 yards.

Furthermore, he is 39 of 74 (52.7%) for 226 yards, no touchdowns, two picks and six sacks (minus-41 yards). That’s an average of 37 net passing yards over five first halves.

Even factoring in Week 3’s sparkling effort, Nix’s passer rating through the first half of this year is 59.4 and the Broncos are averaging 59 net passing yards through the first 30 minutes.

“This all starts with me,” Payton said. “We have to be better offensively.”