Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton knows how close his team came to blowing Sunday’s narrow 33-32 victory over the New York Giants, and he’s well aware that he needs to do something about it. But coaching adjustments will only get him so far with his offensive line, and that’s where the trade deadline comes into play. 

The Broncos are working on their third left guard of the season, and the lower quality of the backups has been showing lately. Starting guard Ben Powers is out for the season with a torn bicep, and backup Matt Peart went down with a knee injury, leaving swing tackle Alex Palczewski to step into the breach. 

The struggles on the line are a big part of what’s making the Broncos offense inconsistent, as noted by Nick Kosmider of The Athletic. 

“I think you start with, ‘who?'” Payton said when asked how the team must begin to fix its widespread offensive issues. “Who is it we’re asking to do certain things from a personnel standpoint? There might be certain guys’ playing time that goes up. Some might begin to diminish. You look closely at the personnel and then you look at the scheme. Does it fit us? There’s a lot to that question, but it’s a good question.” 

When it comes to the guards, though, playing time and personnel adjustments aren’t the answer. The Broncos are trying to hold the fort until the deadline, and they’ll be looking hard at the guard market between now and then. 

Part of that work has been on the screen game, which has become an essential part of Denver’s offense. It’s one way to prop up a struggling line, but  at the moment it’s also a work in progress. 

“Screens are important part of any offense,” guard Quinn Meinerz said Sunday. “It’s a switch up, a change of pace that can help you get back on track, especially if you’re behind the sticks. There are a lot of details that go into screens. As an offensive lineman, you’re trying to get to a landmark at a very specific time and at very specific point on the field while also not knowing what’s going on behind you. Sometimes those landmarks change and you don’t necessarily know, so you’ve got to block your best. It’s the trust of the timing, the trust of the running back and where he’s going to be and the trust that we know who we’re supposed to block. … We’ve done a ton of detail work on that.”

Payton knows he’s facing a new challenge this week. Teams like the Broncos that win with a big comeback often fall flat the next week, and Payton knows all about how that could work against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. 

“Now the challenge is … teams’ records the following week after a major fourth-quarter comeback,” Payton said. “Look it up, analytically, it’s like 2-17. So we’ve got to be able to deal with that challenge. The following week — when you steal a win — is a challenging week.”