Shelby Harris got a hand on Younghoe Koo’s 44-yard game-tying field goal try with a second left and the Denver Broncos began the Vance Joseph era with a 24-21 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night.

”It was a little too exciting,” Von Miller said after presenting Joseph with the game ball in the jubilant locker room. ”But a win is a win.”

Koo nailed the kick moments earlier, but Joseph had called a timeout to ice the kicker.

”I had two timeouts and I wasn’t going to leave with those in my pocket,” Joseph said.

Derek Wolfe had bull-rushed the first field goal and told Harris, a third-year journeyman who made the team largely because of a rash of injuries along the D-line, that he’d get a chance to slice through this time because the guard would lean his way.

Sure enough, Harris got his right hand on the ball, which frittered short of the end zone as the Chargers looked on in dismay and the Broncos dog-piled Harris.

”It’s too bad because Koo drilled the first one,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said. ”And they called timeout and I think he drilled the second one, too. At least, that’s what it looked like to me because it was going right down the middle. And I think if we get to OT, we would have finished it off, but we didn’t get that chance.”

Harris got the start only because Jared Crick and Zach Kerr were out with injuries.

The ending was reminiscent of last year’s opener in Denver, when the Broncos escaped with a 21-20 win over the Carolina Panthers in a Super Bowl 50 reunion when Graham Gano missed a 50-yard field goal with 4 seconds left.

Denver took a 24-7 lead into the fourth quarter in this opener and the Broncos were feeling pretty good. And why not? The Chargers were 1-155 in their history when trailing by 17 or more in the fourth quarter and Denver was 175-0-1 with a fourth-quarter lead of 17 or more.

Then came a nightmarish eight-minute stretch in which they had two turnovers that were converted into touchdowns, a missed field goal and a punt.

”The game was in firm control for about three quarters and we felt good but you turn the ball over twice on the short side of the 50, it’s going to be a problem with Philip Rivers,” Joseph said.

Before those fourth-quarter foibles, Trevor Siemian threw two TD passes to Bennie Fowler and ran for another score.

The Broncos held Rivers to 115 yards passing through three quarters but let him engineer a comeback when Siemian threw an interception and Jamaal Charles fumbled on plays that were upheld despite video evidence that had the crowd of 76,324 convinced they should have been overturned.

Rivers threw touchdown passes to Keenan Allen and Travis Benjamin following the takeaways to make it 24-21.

Back-to-back sacks of Siemian set up a 50-yard field goal try that McManus pushed wide right, giving L.A. the ball at its 40-yard line trailing by three.

But Koo’s miss loomed larger in the final seconds.

DENVER’S DOMINANCE: The Broncos led 14-7 at halftime after Siemian threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Fowler and scored on a 1-yard keeper.

Los Angeles’ only touchdown drive was aided by a 40-yard pass interference call on cornerback Bradley Roby before Rivers hit running back Melvin Gordon for an 11-yard touchdown toss. Safety Justin Simmons hit Gordon at the 2, but he just somersaulted across the goal line.

Rivers stayed away from the All-Pro tandem of Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr., instead targeting Roby and safeties Darian Stewart and Simmons.

Roby atoned for his crucial penalty with an interception in the third quarter on a pass intended for Allen. That led to Siemian’s 6-yard TD toss to Fowler that made it 21-7.

McManus kicked a 20-yard field goal on the last play of the third quarter, capping a 78-yard drive that ate up 8 minutes, 16 seconds.

HISTORIC OPENER: The game presented landmarks on the football field, along the sidelines and in the broadcast booth .

Not since 1960 had the Chargers represented L.A., where they played their inaugural season before bolting to San Diego.

Beth Mowins became the first woman to call an NFL regular season game since NBC’s Gayle Sierens in 1987 when she handled play-by-play on the doubleheader nightcap alongside Rex Ryan, who made his debut as an ESPN analyst.

With Anthony Lynn also making his head coaching debut, this marked the first time two black head coaches worked their first NFL game against each other.

MCMANUS’S MILLIONS : McManus was the last restricted free agent to sign his tender this summer, waiting until June 15 to put his signature on a one-year, $2.75 million deal after making $600,000 last season. He did it in hopes of getting a long-term deal, which he finally got Monday just hours before kickoff when he agreed to a three-year extension worth $11.25 million.

BEEFY BRONCOS : The Broncos beefed up their depleted defensive line before kickoff by promoting rookie nose tackle Tyrique ”Pot Roast Jr.” Jarrett to their active roster and waiving Kyle Peko.

UP NEXT: The Chargers host the Miami Dolphins, whose opener was scrubbed by Hurricane Irma. The Broncos are home again to take on the Cowboys.

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A restless few hours after watching Siemian get clobbered in Denver’s 24-21 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, coach Vance Joseph called out his offensive linemen for their poor pass protection.

”Our backs ran north-south and found some open space to run. That part was very impressive as far as the running game. The pass protection was not that good,” Joseph said Tuesday. ”Again, we were facing two elite rushers in (Melvin) Ingram and (Joey) Bosa. We knew it was going to be a chore, but we have to be better there.

”It was too much pressure on Trevor. There were too many whiffs as far as blocking those speed rushers. It’s got to get better.”

Siemian was hit nine times, not what general manager John Elway envisioned when he reshaped his O-line this offseason by drafting left tackle Garett Bolles in the first round and signing free agent Menelik Watson along with guard Ronald Leary in free agency.

Watson had a particularly tough night.

”Again, the pass protection was not where it has to be for us to be a good football team,” Joseph said. ”We were facing two elite edge rushers last night and most people don’t have two. But in our division, every team has two. We’ve got to improve there. There are no excuses there. We’ve got to play better on the edge as far as blocking speed rushers.”

One of the reasons the AFC West is so tough is their pass rushing duos. The Raiders have Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin and the Chiefs feature Dee Ford and Justin Houston.

The Broncos watched their 24-7 lead whittled to 24-21 after Philip Rivers converted two takeaways at midfield into touchdowns. Denver was at the Chargers 13 before back-to-back sacks pushed the Broncos back to the 32, and Brandon McManus was wide right on a 50-yard field goal attempt with four minutes left.

Only Harris’s blocked field goal with a second left kept the Chargers from forcing overtime.

Siemian finished with two TD passes and a touchdown run in which he juked Bosa to go with his interception and four sacks.

”I think Joey got me one other time, so we’ll call it even,” Siemian said. ”We’ll see him again, so I’m sure I don’t want to see myself in that situation where it’s me and him too often.”

The Broncos’ biggest offseason addition was Leary, who left the Dallas Cowboys for a four-year, $36 million deal in Denver. But he exited his first game with the Broncos with a concussion and his availability is unknown for this weekend’s game against Dallas.

Connor McGovern, who filled in at center in the offseason while Matt Paradis recovered from double hip surgery, replaced Leary at right guard.

Max Garcia and Allen Barbre rotated at left guard to counter the Chargers, who moved Bosa and Ingram inside on some downs.

”Again, I think that is a weapon for us to have two guys that can play at the left guard,” Joseph said. ”Max is a big, physical guy who can move guys in the run game. Barbre is an excellent pass protector. Having both guys, in my opinion, is like having two backs. You can kind of push them in and out as the game proceeds.”

MILLER MUFFLED: Von Miller had four tackles and a quarterback hit but was held without a sack.

”We went into the game with a clear game plan to free Von up, but they wouldn’t let us,” Joseph said. ”They double-chipped both sides. They chipped both rushers. When that happens, in my opinion, the coverage has got to take over. In the past, there has been great pass rush here. But now we’ve got to kind of reverse it. We’ve got to play tighter coverage to get the rush home more often.”

PREPARING FOR ELLIOTT: Joseph said Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott’s legal woes won’t affect the Broncos’ preparations this week.

”It does not. He is a part of their football team. As we watch tape from last week, he’s out there. That is what we will prepare for. He’s a Cowboy,” Joseph said. ”That is not our concern. He is on their football team and we’re getting ready to play whoever they put out there.”

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