This time, near the very end of a mostly agonizing season, the Bengals made enough plays to win.

A familiar connection closed it out.

Joe Burrow threw his third touchdown pass to Tee Higgins with 1:07 left in overtime, and the Bengals kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a wild 30-24 win over the Broncos on Saturday.

“This is one of the crazy ones I’ve been involved with in the NFL,” Burrow said. “It feels like we had a couple of those this year, and it’s nice to come out on top in one.”

After the Broncos’ second punt in overtime, Burrow completed a 31-yard pass to Higgins to the Broncos’ 3, and then went back to the lanky receiver for the final play in the Bengals’ fourth consecutive victory. Higgins finished with 11 receptions for 131 yards.

Cade York had a chance to win it for the Bengals with about three minutes left in overtime, but his 33-yard field goal bounced off the left upright. The Broncos then went three-and-out, including a Bo Nix incompletion on third down, handing the ball right back to Burrow and the Bengals (8-8).

“Tough one to lose,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “We had our opportunities.”

It was the Bengals’ first win this season against a team with a winning record. They need another victory in their final game at Pittsburgh and some help from other teams to make it to the postseason for the first time since 2022.

“We know we can hang with anybody,” Burrow said. “We’ve proven that this year. We played everybody this year close. It’s just about making the plays down the stretch to win those games. Today we did. The last four weeks we have. We’ve got to continue to do it.”

The Broncos (9-7) would have secured an AFC wild card with a victory over the Bengals. They’ll have another opportunity to earn a postseason berth when they host the Chiefs next weekend.

A victory over the Chiefs also would eliminate the Bengals.

Chargers secure a playoff spot with rout of Patriots: As spontaneous celebrations rippled throughout the Chargers’ locker room after their resounding 40-7 win over the Patriots, coach Jim Harbaugh grabbed general manager Joe Hortiz and wrapped him up in a bear hug.

“Love you!” Harbaugh said.

“Love you!” Hortiz responded.

“Great job! Let’s keep it going,” Harbaugh replied, finally loosening his grasp.

The Chargers (10-6) are back in the playoffs. But the message is clear: They have their eyes on achieving much more.

Justin Herbert threw three touchdown passes and the Chargers locked up its second playoff appearance in three seasons with Saturday’s victory.

“We had a good opportunity tonight and we went out and took it,” Herbert said. “We had a good plan. All week we knew how big of a game this was for us. Guys were dialed in, focused and we executed today.”

It also secured the fourth postseason appearance in Harbaugh’s five seasons as an NFL coach, adding to the three he made during his stint with the 49ers.