The Denver Broncos got their ground game going in Sunday’s impressive win over the Philadelphia Eagles, but the win came with a price as the team learned that left guard Ben Powers tore his bicep during the game.

According to Jeff Legwold of ESPN, the injury happened in pass protection when Powers got his arm being awkwardly while quarterback Bo Nix was throwing what would become a completed pass to tight end Adam Trautman. 

Powers didn’t make the trip to London with the team, and he’s already has surgery to repair the injury. He’s expected to miss at least two months, and Powers faces an uphill climb to make it back late in the year given that other players with similar injuries typically miss an entire season. 

Coach Sean Payton addressed the injury publicly for the first time from the UK as the Broncos prep for this Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.

"With a starting player, there's always a -- it's never any good, but the next guy's up and we'll get ready to play him,'' Payton said. 

The injury broke a consecutive games streak of 40 straight games for Powers, including last year’s playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, since the Broncos signed him as a free agent before the 2023 season. Payton didn’t name Powers’ replacement, but lineman Matt Peart worked at left guard during training camp. 

Peart played as a backup last year, and he signed a two-year deal in March to stay with the team. Now he goes from being an important depth piece to a likely starter, and the Broncos have some juggling to do with their offensive line. 

"We know exactly what we're getting [in Peart], we'll see how we handle it,'' Payton said.

The backup guard will have some big shoes to fill, especially given the numbers the Broncos have posted to date. They’re second in the league in pass block win rate at 74 percent, and 18th in run block win rate at 70.9 percent, although that second ranking number is somewhat deceptive given how well J.K. Dobbins is rushing right now. He dominated in the second half against the Eagles, so it will be interesting to see what happens with his numbers as well. 

There’s never a good time for this kind of injury, obviously, but at least Denver isn’t playing a high-powered opponent. The Jets come in at 0-5, and given how dominant the Broncos offense has been, there’s a good chance Denver will be able to win this game while breaking in Peart so he can play well against tougher competition down the line.