While the Broncos are rolling to the NFL playoffs, Jerry Jeudy is headed back to The Mistake by the Lake.

On a Monday night in the Mile High City that rocked with a beautiful noise that hasn’t been heard in Broncos Country in years, Denver beat the Jeudy, Jeudy, Jeudy out of the Cleveland Browns by a count of 41-32.

In a shootout that reminded us of the glory days of Peyton Manning, young Bo Nix resembled a raw rookie prone to error until it mattered most, rallying the Broncos from behind in the fourth quarter.

“A game like that,” Nix said, “it’s literally who can score more points, no matter how it happened.”

Jeudy came back to Colorado vowing to whip the butts of your Broncos, but left Empower Stadium at Mile High with his tail between his legs.

Who’s laughing now?

Despite a league-high $76 million in dead cap on their roster, the Broncos are so close to the playoffs they can almost taste the champagne, in no small measure because they dumped two tons of deadweight like Jeudy and quarterback Russell Wilson.

On a beautiful December night, all the new stars on the Denver roster came out to shine.

These guys are no-names no more.

And the Broncos are no longer scrappy underdogs.

Put some respect on the names of shutdown corner Pat Surtain II, pass-rusher Nik Bonitto, receiver Courtland Sutton, guard Quinn Meinerz, defensive end Zach Allen, returner Marvin Mims Jr. and defensive back Ja’Quan McMillan.

After their third straight victory since a heart-breaking loss in Kansas City, the orange-and-blue bandwagon is rolling because all the young talent on the Denver roster seems to have grown up at the same time.

If the rest of the league is paying attention to the football being played in the Lost Time Zone, Denver will send its most representatives to the Pro Bowl, since a half dozen Broncos were selected during the 2016 season in the afterglow of Super Bowl 50.

That’s a far cry from the bad old days of not so long ago, when Denver did not have a single player on the Pro Bowl roster in 2021.

When it looked as if Cleveland quarterback Jameis Winston might destroy the happy vibe with a desperate late drive, McMillan showed why he’s the best slot corner to work in Denver since Chris Harris, grabbing an interception and taking it to the house for a 44-yard touchdown with one minute, 48 seconds remaining on the game clock.

“Big play,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said.

Every time he touched the football, Browns receiver Jeudy got booed so lustily in his return to Denver that it sounded like Carmelo Anthony was back in town.

Jeudy, Jeudy, Jeudy.

He was here, there and everywhere, catching nine passes for 235 yards, giving the Broncomaniacs ample opportunity to remind the former first-round draft pick that he was too sullen in Colorado to ever shine like a star.

On his 70-yard touchdown catch that got the Browns back in the game in the third quarter, Jeudy turned around at the goal line and fell backwards into the end zone.

It’s all about him.

Well, here’s something Jeudy will never understand.

Winning football requires love for all in the locker room, not just the man in the mirror.

After leading Denver on an 11-play, 61-yard drive for a winning field goal that required contributions from every man in the Broncos huddle, Nix explained the culture that didn’t take hold until Jeudy left town.

“We’re a confident bunch right now,” Nix said. “We’re playing aggressively, we’re playing together. We’re playing with … a chip on our shoulder just to prove to not only other people but to ourselves that we have a really good football team.”

Here’s the smoke Jeudy can’t handle.

Broncos Country is better off without Jeudy.

And vice versa.

Jeudy got his wish in March, after asking to be traded from Denver two years in a row.

He’s getting paid. Handsomely. Before he knew the way to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland gave Jeudy a three-year, $52 million extension.

The Broncos are going to the playoffs.

All the money in the world doesn’t make you a winner.