ENGLEWOOD • Sean Payton plans to change his halftime routine on Sunday, although he still will eat his usual banana.

The Broncos (6-6) have struggled on offense to start s e c on d halves. In 12 games, they have scored once on the first possession of the second half, a touchdown Oct. 22 against Green Bay.

Denver won that game to start a five-game winning streak. That streak came to an end in last Sunday’s 22-17 loss at Houston and the Broncos’ first possession after the half was ugly. Trailing 13-3, they lost six yards on three plays, then punted.

Payton has seen enough. For Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers (5-7) at Sofi Stadium, he will script plays to start the game. Then, for the first time this season, he will script plays for the second half.

“I normally script the first 15 Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, obviously before the meetings (on Saturday night),’’ Payton said after Friday’s practice. “Then we go through it in the meetings. I’m not going to script the second half before the game starts, though. I’ll put five or six plays together at halftime and then have my banana.”

Broncos tackle Mike McGlinchey who played five seasons at San Francisco said coach Kyle Shanahan always scripted plays for the first and second halves. He hopes Payton will jump start Denver’s offense.

“I think it will help us talk through certain situations, help us get on the same page for what’s expected coming out of the half, what (Payton) sees, what (the Chargers are) playing,’’ Mcglinchey said. “I think that will be great for us, for sure. ”

When first-half play scripts are unveiled the night before a game, offensive players have ample time to prepare. There will be minimal time after the script is presented at halftime, but Mcglinchey doesn’t think its a big deal.

“They’re not coming out of thin air,’’ Mcglinchey said. “They’re plays that we’ve repped, they’re plays that we’ve talked about. They’re just the ones he wants to call in response to how (the Chargers) play the game.”

If the Broncos start second halves better, it might reduce the need for fourth-quarter comebacks. During their five-game win streak, Denver came back three times late to win.

Against the Texans, that didn’t work. Trailing 22-17 with first-and-goal with 23 seconds left, Russell Wilson misfired on three passes, the last one picked off in the end zone.

“We just got to find a way to finish,’’ said running back

Javonte Williams. “We had plenty of chances at the end of the game against Houston and we just didn’t finish.”

The Broncos regressed on offense against the Texans. They were 0 for 11 on third-down and didn’t score a touchdown until a 45-yard pass from Wilson to Courtland Sutton cut the deficit to 16-10 with 4:47 left in the third.

“I think as a teacher, we always have to examine the why,’’ Payton said. “Did we explain it well enough? Did we cover it well enough? How could we have done a better job ourselves? If you hand out a test to your students and two-thirds of them are getting Cs and Ds, then you have to look at yourself. When we have a game like last week, it starts with looking inward. ‘’

Mcglinchey said blame also falls on the players.

“I appreciate (Payton) stepping up in that regard, but the players also need to step up as well,’’ said Mcglinchey, one of six team captains. “We know we didn’t execute to the highest of our ability, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

It starts with me. It starts with the rest of the leaders. We have to play better and once we do that. as long as we execute our job, I think we’ll start clicking again.”

It doesn’t hurt that the Chargers struggle on defense. They are coming off a 6-0 win last Sunday at New England, but they rank No. 29 in the NFL in total defense, giving up 379.5 yards per game. They have been most vulnerable through the air, giving up 265.8 yards per game, which ranks No. 31.

The Chargers likely can’t afford another loss if they hope to make the playoffs. The Broncos might be able to afford one loss, but next they play at powerful Detroit on a short week.

“We’ve had a lot of success,’’ Mcglinchey said of coming off the loss at Houston. “One game shouldn’t cause a panic button just the way it didn’t (early in the season), and certainly not after five straight wins (prior to the defeat).”

Nevertheless, Payton will change things and script some plays before he has his banana.