LAS VEGAS – The Broncos are winning big these days, so it was only appropriate Marvin Mims Jr. did the Mile High Salute on Sunday.

The wide receiver did so after his 48-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter gave the Broncos the lead for good in their 24-17 win over Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium.

The Mile High Salute was popularized by star running back Terrell Davis when Denver won its first Super Bowl in the 1997 season. The Broncos defeated Green Bay 31-24 in Super Bowl XXXII, and the Packers are in Denver next Sunday for a battle between potential No. 1 playoff seeds.

The Broncos (11-2) won their 10^th straight game and took back the No. 1 potential seed in the AFC playoff race. New England, on a bye week, is also 11-2, but the Broncos assured themselves with the victory over the Raiders (2-11) that they would win any one-on-one tiebreaker with the Patriots. That potentially would be due to the best record against common foes.

With the score tied 7-7, Mims broke what should have been an easy tackle by Raiders cornerback Decamerion Richardson and sprinted down the left sideline to give Denver a 14-7 lead with 6:29 left in the first half. It was the first punt Mims has brought back for a touchdown in his three-year career.

“It’s kind of been talked about in the receiving room,’’ Mims said. “One of my nicknames is ‘Mile High Marv,’ so I wanted to save it for like a kick return, something like that, punt return. I ended up getting it. First one of my career, so it was pretty cool.”

Mims became the first Broncos player to return a punt for a touchdown since Diontae Spencer brought one back for 83 yards on Dec. 13, 2020, at Carolina. Spencer watched Sunday’s game and told The Denver Gazette he has the ball from his only NFL score on display at his home in Lafayette, La., and it is written on it, “1^st NFL career touchdown.”

“I’m pretty happy for Marvin Mims, though’’ said Spencer, who played for the Broncos from 2019-21 but hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since then. “He’s a pretty good player.”

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix was also happy with Mims.

“Returning a kick for points, that’s the best offensive drive you’re going to have,’’ Nix said. “That’s just a great advantage for us. That’s a great threat.”

Nix, though, was Denver’s biggest threat throughout the game. He completed 31 of 38 passes for 212 yards and ran three times for 15 yards.

On the game’s first drive, the Broncos had first-and-goal at the Raiders’ 3-yard line but were called for a delay of game. Yet on the next play, Nix scored on an 8-yard run on a quarterback draw for a 7-0 lead.

“You don’t want penalties in the red zone,’’ Nix said. “Normally, those kill your drives, but we were fortunate to get in the end zone.”

The Raiders tied the score 7-7 on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith to tight end Brock Bowers on the final play of the first quarter. But the Broncos took over after that, getting Mims’ score, a 3-yard run touchdown run by R.J. Harvey in the third quarter and a 23-yard field goal by Wil Lutz in the fourth quarter for a 24-7 lead.

The Broncos did relax a bit at the end, giving up a 25-yard touchdown reception by Shedrick Jackson with 2:17 left from Kenny Pickett, who replaced Smith for the fourth quarter after he was lost for the game with a shoulder injury, and a 46-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson on the game’s final play.

That Las Vegas coach Pete Carroll went for a field goal was interesting since it allowed the Raiders, a 7.5-point underdog, to cover the spread.

“I feel like we played pretty good ball right up to the end,’’ said Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto. “I feel we got to finish a little better but overall we played pretty well.”

While it will go down as a one-score game, matters were never in doubt for the Broncos. That was quite a contrast to seven of the first nine games of their winning streak, which were all decided by four points or less.

“It did not feel like some of these other ones recently,’’ said Denver coach Sean Payton. “My headset was off earlier.”

Thanks to Nix controlling the game with short passes and the play of Harvey, the Broncos dominated the time of possession, 39:03 to 20:57. Harvey, a rookie, carried 17 times for 75 yards and caught six passes for 25 yards. The Broncos had struggled in the previous two games running the ball after J.K. Dobbins was placed Nov. 15 on injured reserve.

“It felt great,’’ said Harvey, whose 23 touches were a season best. “I’ve been working hard throughout practice, ever since I got to the Broncos. A lot of you don’t see all the hard work I put in. I’m just going to getting better each and every week.”

Payton was at least glad to see the Broncos be a lot better than they were in an ugly 10-7 win over the Raiders at home Nov. 6. Payton, who calls the plays, said he did an “awful” job in preparing for that game.

“We had a lot better plan offensively than the last time around,’’ Payton said. “It was the antithesis of the last game.”

Denver’s defense, though, almost always shows up. The Broncos had four sacks, two by Bonitto and seven overall quarterback pressures.

“Our job is to make sure they’re uncomfortable all game, and I think anybody who watches the tape can see that (Las Vegas quarterbacks were) uncomfortable,’’ said Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers, who had a sack.

Put it all together, and the Broncos are one victory shy of their longest winning streak since 2012, when they had an 11-game run in quarterback Peyton Manning’s first season with the team.

“It’s amazing,’’ Nix said. “Ten’s a long streak. … A streak like that is hard to do.”

The schedule, though, now gets much tougher. The 9-3-1 Packers will come in next Sunday a half game behind the Los Angeles Rams (10-3) for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. That will be followed by Jacksonville at home, at Kansas City and the Los Angeles Chargers at home.

Some more Mile High Salutes and the Broncos could be in very good shape.