SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Chargers eased a lot of pain with their 21-13 victory over the Denver Broncos.

Philip Rivers threw for 178 yards and one touchdown, passing Hall of Famer Dan Fouts to become San Diego’s career passing leader, and the Chargers held off the Broncos.

The victory may have saved embattled coach Mike McCoy’s job and it snapped a streak of 10 straight losses in the AFC West dating to 2014.

Most importantly, the Chargers figured out how to finish a game in which they had a late lead.

“There is nothing like winning,” a misty-eyed McCoy said. “Especially beating a good football team in front of our home fans. It was great.”

Of course, these being the Chargers (2-4), they still extended nervous time right down to the final gun.

Denver’s Brandon McManus kicked a 46-yard field goal with 27 seconds left, and Denver recovered the onside kick at its 46. It got to the San Diego 45 with 8 seconds to go before Trevor Siemian’s desperation pass was batted down by Dexter McCoil.

“You can’t take winning for granted in this league,” defensive end Corey Liuget said. “When I saw it said 0:00 and that guy didn’t catch that ball, I was happy. I got on my knee and said, `Thank you, Lord. It’s over now.”’

McCoy has been under fire for his conservative approach, particularly late in games, and clock-management issues.

He went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Denver 20 early in the second half, with Melvin Gordon going over the top for a 1-yard gain. Rivers misfired on two straight passes and was flushed on third down, forcing the Chargers to settle for Josh Lambo’s 37-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead.

McCoy improved to 25-31 overall in four seasons.

The Chargers were coming off a mistake-filled loss at Oakland, and earlier in the season lost three games in which they led at the 2-minute warning.

The victory “meant a ton for Mike,” Rivers said. “I felt it.”