On a night when a new Denver cult hero was born, the Broncos discovered a newfound identity.

Ending a month of navel-gazing, the Broncos put their heads down, dug in their cleats and slobber-knocked the stripes off the Bengals in a 28-3 victory.

“We showed we’re a tough team,” said running back J.K. Dobbins, who became the first Denver ballcarrier in a long stretch of 38 games to rush for more than 100 yards.

As sweet as it was to see the Broncos kick butt and take names, it was only the second-best thing to happen on an early autumn evening that felt like football weather.

You might find it hard to believe, but the new hot Broncos jersey in this dusty old cowtown seems destined to be No. 63.

And to tell the truth, nobody finds it harder to fathom than the man inside that Denver jersey, reserve offensive lineman Alex Palczewski.

Every time Palczewski entered the Denver huddle as an extra blocker in a jumbo offensive package, the crowd at Empower Field went wild when an official announced No. 63 as an eligible receiver.

“It’s pretty cool,” Palczewski said. “But I try to ignore (the cheers), because I want to hear the play call, so I don’t mess up.”

Quiet? Please, no. Pump up the volume on this madness.

“I love it!” Dobbins said. “The first time I heard that, I was like: ‘Am I tripping?’ And then (the crowd) kept doing it, and I was like: ‘This is great!’ Broncos Country is the best.”

While the cheering for Palczewski doesn’t enjoy the long, storied tradition of the “IN-COM-PLETE” chant, it’s crazy, good fun and another indication that no city in the NFL has a hipper fan base.

“I swear I didn’t pay anybody in the audience,” joked Palczewski.

He added that “I’m getting a lot of slack” in a Denver offensive line room where anonymity is celebrated by big dudes quietly doing the grunt work.

After a solid month of fooling around, maybe the Broncos figured out who they are during an impressive performance on Monday Night Football.

In the first of four prime-time games this year, Denver finally played like a team ready for its close-up.

Dobbins rumbled for 101 yards on the ground, becoming the first Broncos ballcarrier to surpass the century mark since Latavius Murray did it way back on Jan. 8, 2023.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Dobbins.

With his first 100-yard rushing game to his name since joining Denver as a free agent, Dobbins ain’t done yet. He’s getting greedy. In a good way.

“Maybe I can go back-to-back,” Dobbins said.

Denver edge-rusher Nik Bonitto, who already has recorded 4.5 sacks in this young NFL season, made life for Cincinnati reserve quarterback Jake Browning miserable, with more than a little help from his friends on the Broncos defense.

“The pass rush is killer,” said Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, thanking his lucky stars that he doesn’t have to face that kind of heat on a weekly basis.

This was precisely the sort of pound-the-rock, wear-em-down and grind-it-out victory that should be the trademark of this Denver team.

While coach Sean Payton has re-introduced competent football to Broncos Country, he is still looking for a signature win.

Next up: A big chance to change all that. 

Fresh off a bye week against the Joe Burrow-less Bungles, we’re going to get our first real chance to see if these Broncos are contenders or pretenders.

While beating Cincinnati got Denver back to .500 after four games, Payton was quick to file the “W” away, turn the page and get down to much more serious business at hand.

“We change quickly to (facing) a team that just won the Super Bowl,” he said.

Yes, the defending league champions await in Philadelphia, where Saquon Barkley can make you miss, Uncle Vic will mess ya up and the notoriously ornery crowd is a nonstop yo mama joke.

The man who will make the match-up against the Eagles especially compelling is defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who was run out of Denver as head coach after compiling a 19-30 record in three seasons from 2019-21. He was invited by Payton to come back to town as a top assistant, only to politely decline and wind up guiding a defense that flustered Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City in the most recent Super Bowl.

For a team with new championship aspirations of its own, the Broncos’ physical and mental toughness will be seriously tested by the Eagles.

“By tough I mean, the run game and – of course – defense. But I mean mentally tough,” Dobbins said.

“In this league, more games are lost than won. And what I mean by that is: If you’re not mentally strong enough to have the right technique on a block, you’re going to get a holding call. Or if you’re not focused before the snap, false start. All the tough teams I’ve been a part of, that’s where it’s at. That’s what toughness means. Not only being physically tough, but you have to be mentally sharp.”

If the Broncos aren’t confident in their identity and tough to the bone when the going gets tough in Philly, they’re going to get cracked worse than the Liberty Bell.