After an exhausting game that lasted 3 hours, 29 minutes, Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper was ready for a break.

A long one.

After the Broncos defeated the Cleveland Browns 41-32 on Monday night at Empower Field at Mile High, players dispersed for their bye week. They will return next week in preparation for a big Dec. 15 home game against the Indianapolis Colts.

“Oh, my goodness,’’ Cooper said. “I don’t think I’ve ever needed rest more in my life, especially after this game.”

In the wild game, the Broncos took the lead for good at 34-32 on a 27-yard field goal by Wil Lutz with 2:54 remaining. Cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian then wrapped up matters with a 44-yard interception return for a touchdown off a Jameis Winston pass with 1:48 left to make it 41-32.

The win raised the Broncos’ record to 8-5. They remain in the No. 7 playoff spot in the AFC, with seven teams making it. Now they are the last NFL team this season to enter a bye week.

The Colts, Baltimore, Houston, New England and Washington are also on a bye this week. All of those teams played Sunday.

“I’ll enjoy it,’’ Broncos quarterback Bo Nix said of the time off. “I think it’s at a good time. We have a lot of ball behind us and it’s kind of set up for this. A good week of rest, a good week of just kind of (getting) a reset. Then we have four more games — four tough games to battle through down the stretch. We’re going for a playoff spot.”

After playing the Colts, the Broncos will close the season with games at the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 19, at Cincinnati on Dec. 28 or 29 and home against Kansas City on Jan. 4 or 5.

The Colts will come to Denver at 6-7, two games behind the Broncos for the No. 7 spot. If the Colts can get a win, they would close within a game and gain a possible tiebreaker. The Colts have a much easier schedule than the Broncos after that, closing with games at home against Tennessee (3-9), at the New York Giants (2-10) and at home to Jacksonville (2-10).

Miami (5-7) is the only other team with a realistic chance of catching the Broncos for No. 7. The Dolphins would win a possible tiebreaker over Denver and close the season with games at home against the New York Jets (3-9), at Houston (8-5), at home against San Francisco (5-7), at Cleveland (3-9) and at the Jets.

The Broncos, though, are hoping to move up in the playoff race. They have the same record as No. 6 Baltimore, although the Ravens would win a tiebreaker due to their 41-10 win over Denver on Nov. 3. And the Broncos still have a chance to overtake the Chargers (8-4), now at No. 5.

In the meantime, don’t expect Broncos coaches to be taking much time off during the bye week. On offense, Nix completed 18 of 35 passes for 294 yards and a 93-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Mims Jr., but he did throw two interceptions. And there are still issues with the running game.

On defense, the Broncos also got a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter by outside linebacker Nik Bonitto and a late-game pick by Cody Barton. But they gave up a staggering 552 yards of total offense, with Winston throwing for 497 yards and four touchdowns although he did have the three interceptions. Former Denver receiver Jerry Jeudy caught nine passes for 235 yards, the most yards receiving ever against the Broncos and the most receiving yards by a player against a former team.

The Broncos entered the game giving up an average of 296 yards per game. They have slipped from No. 3 in the NFL in total defense to No. 9, although their drop in scoring defense was only from No. 2 to 3.

“Obviously, when we go back and look at that tape, we are going to look at a lot of things defensively that we would have done differently,’’ said Broncos coach Sean Payton. “We have to.”

The bye week could be important for injuries in Denver’s secondary. The Broncos on Monday were without starting cornerback Riley Moss because of a knee injury and Winston took advantage of replacement Levi Wallace. Starting safety Brandon Jones was lost for the second half due to a groin strain and was replaced by Devon Key, who is not the same caliber of player.

It remains to be seen what the health will be of Moss and Jones when the Broncos have two important games in a short span against the Colts and Chargers.

“I think just working on the little things, especially on the backend,’’ star cornerback Pat Surtain II said of Denver’s issues Monday in the secondary. “Just communication, honing in on our technique. I just felt like some plays we just missed the mark or we missed execution. So I think the big thing for us is hone in on technique and stuff like that because we can’t let that happen again.”

Cooper said “of course” the Broncos have plenty to work on defensively before they face the Colts. However, he commended the defense for stepping up when it was needed.

“It just shows just that we have fight in us and we won’t keep fighting until the end,’’ Cooper said. “It’s a team that doesn’t give up no matter if things aren’t going our way.”