Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin now has another ball to display at his home.

After the undrafted rookie scored his first NFL touchdown Sept. 17 against Washington, he said staff members painted up the ball nicely and he vowed to place it in his living room. And after Sunday’s 31-28 win at Chicago, McLaughlin was one of four Denver players given a game ball.

“It was great,’’ McLaughlin, who joined outside linebackers Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto and kicker Wil Lutz as recIpients, said Monday. “The whole team was clapping and it was definitely something great. … It was definitely a surreal feeling to get the game ball and I’m thankful for it for sure.”

With Javonte Williams lost for the game in the second quarter with a hip injury after carrying just two times for no yards, McLaughlin got a bigger load than perhaps had been expected against the Bears. He carried seven times for 72 yards and caught three passes for 32 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown reception on Denver’s first drive before Williams was hurt.

Broncos coach Sean Payton declined Monday to offer an injury update on Williams, who started the first four games following his return from suffering a season-ending knee injury last October. But Payton had plenty to say about the showing of McLaughlin.

“He played really well. … He was explosive in the run and the pass,’’ Payton said. “He gave us some juice, so we’ll continue to look at his role.”

Meanwhile, McLaughlin didn’t sound much like a player who had picked up 104 yards from scrimmage on just 10 touches in helping the Broncos (1-3) overcome a 28-7 deficit and get their first win of the season.

“I think it was good but I think there’s a lot more I can do out there and I got to get better, put the team in the best places to win,’’ said McLaughlin, who got a longer look Sunday after having just six carries for 20 yards in the first three games. “I got to get better. … There’s some good out there, but I will be better.”

McLaughlin shrugged off the possibility that he could play a bigger role Sunday against the New York Jets at Empower Field at Mile due to Williams’ injury. He offered “prayers to Javonte” and said he is continuing to learn from Williams and running back Samaje Perine.

Payton had said after Sunday’s game he put the 5-foot-7, 187-pound McLaughlin in a “mismatch” in the first half “where he’s blocking a bigger linebacker.” He was referring to a pass-protection moment, when the 6-2, 236-pound Jack Sanhorn got by the much smaller McLaughlin.

“I think Coach didn’t put me in a bad spot,’’ McLaughlin said Monday. “I’ve got to be better. All 11 on field, we have a job to do and on that play, I wasn’t able to do my job and I think I have to be better. … I have to be more technical and I have to get better in pass protection. That’s totally on me. And I will be better.”

McLaughlin looked good, though, on plenty of plays. On Denver’s first possession, he caught a screen pass from Russell Wilson and darted through the Bears defense to give his team a 7-0 lead.

“(Payton) was preaching to me all week, ‘Patience, patience,’ on the screens,’’ said McLaughlin, who said guard Quinn Meinerz made an “awesome block.”

When McLaughlin got to the end zone, he did a touchdown dance in which he shuffled his feet backward as if he were a bull about to be unleashed. Then he pointed at the sky in a religious move.

“Before the bull goes out there, they try to mark their territory, so I think that’s something that I try to bring to that aspect of the game, with me being a bull and wanting to go out there on a football field playing with passion and playing with fight,’’ he said.

McLaughlin said he got the move from watching boxer Earl Spence Jr. do it and he first unveiled it in 2021 during his junior year at Youngstown State.

The speedy McLaughlin, though, looks more like a gazelle when going down the field. He had a nifty 31-yard run late in the third quarter that set up a 4-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Brandon Johnson. That cut the deficit to 28-14 and helped Denver’s comeback get going.

Now, the Broncos will head into the game against a solid Jets defense with uncertainty surrounding Williams. Perine mostly has been the primary backup but he now has an inspiring 18 carries for 66 yards in four games.

Meanwhile, McLaughlin has 13 attempts this season for 92 yards and a sparkling per-carry average of 7.1 yards. Count Russell Wilson as one who has liked what he has seen from him.

“The spirit of him is what’s amazing,’’ Wilson said. “His confidence. … He has great confidence all over him. He just believes how great he can be.”

The modest McLaughlin just doesn’t say how great he believes he can be.