HOUSTON – The Broncos live on the brink but refuse to blink, and that might make them the worst 7-2 team in the NFL.

Think they care?

“It’s better than being 6-3,” defensive end Zach Allen said Sunday.

Hard to argue with that logic.

Denver staged yet another fourth-quarter comeback against Houston, leaving the Texans kicking themselves after the Broncos walked off with an 18-15 victory.

“Drama ain’t nothing new to us!” linebacker Nik Bonitto told me as he ambled out of the visiting locker room at NRG Stadium with the smile of a thief who got away with stealing another precious W.

In a league where you are what your record says you are, the sum of these Broncos is greater than their parts.

Fully capable of looking like he doesn’t have a clue until it matters most, quarterback Bo Nix is easier to appreciate than explain.

“He finds a way,” said Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton. “He’s a gamer.”

Sutton kept the unwavering faith, as Nix erased a 15-7 deficit in the final period that led to Wil Lutz nailing a 34-yard field goal with nothing but zeroes on the scoreboard clock.

Their current six-game winning streak has required rallying from behind four times in the final frame. During those four comebacks, the dudes in orange and blue have outscored the Eagles, Jets, Giants and Texans by a cumulative score of 65-13.

That’s the very definition of living on the jagged edge, where Denver has made itself at home.

“No matter what the score is,” Bonitto said, “we’re going to find a way to win.”

They’ve become the better-late-than-never Broncos.

At winning time, Denver has learned that the big play is often born from a stubborn refusal to fold.

“I felt like last year,” Allen said, “we were just trying to find ways to lose close games.”

Through three quarters, Nix completed only nine of 21 passes for 97 yards, with a head-scratching interception marring his one beautiful touchdown pass to Sutton.

“It’s never feeling like you’re out of the fight,” said Nix, who completed nine passes, including a TD throw to RJ Harvey and a two-point conversion to Troy Franklin, during the fourth quarter.  “I’ve learned a different kind of patience.”

Although a fourth-quarter rally was required, two key factors allowed Denver to escape from deep in the heart of Texas with a victory, and both of those glaringly obvious swings of momentum happened in the first half.

Reason No. 1: With Houston leading 3-0 early in the second quarter, starting quarterback C.J. Stroud suffered a concussion when the back of his head slammed hard on the artificial turf when his six-yard scramble ended with an unfortunate and inadvertent collision with Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine.

With back-up QB Davis Mills looking as if his primary concern was not to do anything dumb, the Texans were lucky to milk five field goals from their limited offensive playbook.

Reason No. 2, however, rocked the Texans’ confidence before Stroud long before Stroud wobbled toward the sideline with his brain rattled.

During their second offensive possession of the game, Houston drove down the field of a Denver defense playing without injured superstar cornerback Pat Surtain II.

Late in the first quarter of a scoreless game, the Texans had a first down a scant 36 inches from the Denver goal line.

“It don’t matter,” safety Talanoa Hufanga said. “We’ve got to get the job done.”

First down: Running back Nick Chubb stuffed for no gain by linebacker Dre Greenlaw and Hufanga.

Second down: The Texans rolled a bowling ball named British Brooks into an orange wall for no gain.

Third down: Proving how stubborn and non-creative a head coach can be, DeMeco Ryans watched from the Houston sideline as Brooks got chopped down again at the line by Greenlaw and Malcolm Roach.

Fourth down: Totally flustered, the Texans committed a false start, setting them back five yards and forcing them to settle for a field goal instead of seven points.

“It’s a four-point swing. That’s a big deal. And the offense knows that too,” Hufanga said.

“You talk about four points in a game like this? That’s huge. If we don’t make that stand, we’re not talking about kicking a game-winning field goal.”

What’s the primary ingredient of a goal-line stand?

Well, it requires significant talent, an immense amount of beef and disciplined technique.

But those fine football qualities don’t begin to describe why these Broncos play best with their backs against the wall. 

“It’s all heart,” Bonitto told me, while gently tapping a fist to his chest. 

In a season when no truly dominant NFL team has emerged, how far can heart take the Broncos?

We’re fixing to find out.

After building their AFC West’s best record on ground shakier than the San Andreas Fault, these Broncos live by one rule:

When everything appears to be crumbling, don’t ever get shook.