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The Broncos told Brock Osweiler how this would go, how they would 鈥渒ill鈥� him and trash-talk him while doing so, and how they would make his return to Denver miserable after he bolted for Houston, a team he believed would 鈥済ive me the best opportunity to be successful.”

The Broncos kept their word.

Booed early and often at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Monday night, Osweiler was held to 131 passing yards on 41 attempts and zero touchdowns, as the Broncos (5-2) snapped their two-game losing streak with a 27-9 victory.

“I looked up at the scoreboard at his yards,” Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib said, “and I just smiled on the inside.”

Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian, Osweiler鈥檚 former backup in Denver, finished 14-of-25 for 157 yards, one touchdown and a 88.2 passer rating.

“We really need balance in this league to have success and keep defenses on their toes,” Siemian said. “Proud of the guys up front — they did a heck of a job — and I can’t say enough about the two backs tonight.

It was the revival of the Broncos鈥� running game, with a season-high 190 rushing yards and two touchdowns, that highlighted an offensive turnaround that led to the victory. Veteran back C.J. Anderson accounted for a season-best 107 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

The balanced attack coach Gary Kubiak has sought all season finally delivered.

Although the game was billed as a 鈥渟hould鈥� and 鈥渕ust鈥� win for the Broncos鈥� to end their slide, it was far from a perfect performance due to early penalties that stymied the offense. But the defense came out strong, keeping the Texans off the scoreboard after two possessions. Houston was the first Broncos opponent this season to fail to score on their first or second drive.

But Houston did score first, with two 43-yard field goals in the opening quarter to take a 6-0 lead. Coming off a loss in San Diego that included 12 penalties, the Broncos racked up four holding calls — two by left tackle Russell Okung that reversed third-down conversions — in the first 16 minutes.

This time, however, the Broncos corrected their errors before it was too late.

“We really got off to a rough start, made two big third downs early that got called back for holding calls and then a bunch of penalties. But the thing I’m proud of is we stuck with our game plan,” Kubiak said. “We needed to play physical, win the line of scrimmage. …聽We made mistakes tonight but, bottom line, we didn’t beat ourselves. We didn’t beat ourselves with turnovers, we calmed the penalties down in the second half, late in the game. We played very consistently defensively throughout the course of the game. That was our focus and we need to hang onto that.”

Denver opened the second quarter with a 75-yard scoring drive that included three runs by rookie running back Devontae Booker for 15 yards, three passing first downs by Siemian and a 7-yard touchdown run by Anderson.

On their next possession, Booker ran for a combined 30 yards before Siemian hit receiver Demaryius Thomas with a 4-yard touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone.

The offense was clicking. The line was cohesive. And the run game balanced the passing game, setting the tone for the remainder of the game — and, the Broncos hope, for the rest of the season.

The Broncos鈥� defense, meanwhile, had its way with Osweiler and the Texans, who had only four first downs in the first half and whose star receiver, DeAndre Hopkins, was limited to five catches and 36 yard. Seven of Osweiler鈥檚 passes were deflected, three courtesy of cornerback Aqib Talib.

Although the Broncos鈥� defense allowed 140 rushing yards, Houston gained only 271 yards as Denver came up big in big moments, as it so often does.

In the third quarter, T.J. Ward and fellow safety Darian Stewart combined on a bruising hit that forced a fumble by Houston running back Alfred Blue. Linebacker Todd Davis recovered to put the ball back in Siemian鈥檚 hands, and the second-year quarterback proceeded to find Sanders for a 31-yard over-the-shoulder catch, and Booker finished off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown for a 21-9 lead.

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On the first play of the fourth, the Broncos recovered another fumble after Osweiler had the ball slip from his hands as he readied to pass on a third-and-5 play. Two fourth-quarter field goals by Brandon McManus sealed the victory.

The Broncos鈥� rushers showed up.

The Broncos鈥� defense called their shots.

And the Broncos鈥� new quarterback outshined their old one.

Welcome back to Denver, Brock Osweiler.