Once again, the Broncos had a sluggish first three quarters. At least this time they didn’t need a fourth-quarter rally.

In an ugly game on Thursday Night Football, the Broncos struggled to beat the hapless Las Vegas Raiders 10-7 at Empower Field at Mile High.

Wil Lutz kicked a 32-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in the third quarter to give Denver a 10-7 lead. So no late comeback was needed after the Broncos had won four of their last five games with fourth-quarter rallies.

The Raiders had a chance to tie the game but Daniel Carlson, a Colorado Springs native, missed a 48-yard field goal wide right with 4:26 left in the game. The Broncos then ran out the clock thanks to J.K. Dobbins, who had 77 yards rushing.

The Broncos (8-2) won their seventh straight game, the longest ongoing streak in the NFL. They won their 10th straight home game, also the league’s longest current streak.

The Broncos’ offense was bailed out with 1:29 left in the third quarter when Tyler Badie recovered at the Raiders 12 an AJ Cole punt blocked by JL. Skinner. After the offense couldn’t move the ball, Lutz booted the go-ahead field goal against Las Vegas (2-7), which lost for the seventh time in eight games.

“We got to do better,’’ quarterback Bo Nix said of Denver’s showing on offense. “At some point, 10 points isn’t going to be enough (to win). We have to score more. … We have a tough, resilient football team. We find ways to win. Usually right now it starts with the defense making the charge.”

It was indeed another stellar defensive showing by the Broncos, who sacked Raiders quarterback Geno Smith six times. Outside linebackers Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper both had 1.5 sacks.

“I definitely feel sacks are huge,’’ Cooper said. “We’re getting there, but I feel we need to get the ball out of the quarterback. We have to have more sack fumbles, more turnovers and stuff. But we’re definitely putting pressure on the quarterback.”

Smith completed 16 of 26 passes for 143 yards and threw an interception. It was his league-leading 12th pick of the season but it wasn’t his fault due to the ball bouncing off the bands of running back Ashton Jeanty.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix wasn’t much better. He completed 16 of 28 passes for 150 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The second interception wasn’t Nix’s fault as it bounced off the hands of Troy Franklin and was picked off by Kyu Blu Kelly at the Denver 45 with 7:10 left in the game. The Raiders then drove in position for Carlson’s missed field goal.

“In the NFL, seven (straight) wins are hard to come by,’’ Nix said after the win over an AFC West rival. “We’re doing something right but at the same time we’re doing something wrong. … Between penalties and sluggish football, we’re just not playing very good. It starts with me. I got to be better.”

Nix did throw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Franklin with 2:41 left in the first half to tie the score 7-7. The Raiders had taken a 7-0 lead on a 4-yard run by Jeanty with 3:02 left in the first quarter.

Jeanty’s touchdown was set up by a 30-yard punt by Jeremy Crawshaw that went out of bounds at the Broncos 41. Crawshaw shanked his first three punts on a windy night but did come back to have some solid boots.

Cole had punts in the first half that went out of bounds at the Denver 2 and the 1. But he took too much time getting off the pivotal punt that was blocked by Skinner.

“I think the field position was really important, so the blocked punt was significant,’’ Payton said.

Nevertheless, the win didn’t feel fully satisfying for the Broncos.

“We need to be better just plain and simple,’’ said tackle Mike McGlinchey. “We can’t keep living like this and expect to win ball games. … It’s an incredible accomplishment to win that many games out of 10. We put ourselves in a great position for the back half of the year but we’re living a little dangerously and we got to clean that up.”

The Broncos had just 220 yards of offense although that was more than the Raiders’ 188. The fans often booed Denver’s offense.

“I’ve been booed before, and I’ll be booed again,” Nix said. “Not going to be the last time. It’s obviously unfortunate. You don’t want your own fans booing you, but it’s part of it.”

The Broncos had more penalties (11) than first downs (10), and the Raiders had the same two numbers. Payton called the Broncos’ penalties, which set them back 78 yards, “too many.”

“Am I comfortable as a coach?’’ Payton said. “I’m never satisfied. We got to clean up the penalties and clean up the execution. That’s an ongoing thing that never ends. We’re searching for that Shangri-La. Right now, we’re sitting at eight wins. We’re the only team sitting there but we’re always looking internally. It wasn’t a good night offensively.”

Payton called Denver’s defense “fabulous.” But as a team, Cooper said the Broncos must do better.

“Right now it’s sustainable,’’ Cooper said. “We do have to figure it out before we hit the playoffs.”

It’s not a playoff game, but the Broncos likely will learn a lot more about their team when they next play Nov. 16. The foe is nine-time defending AFC West champion Kansas City (5-4) at home.