ENGLEWOOD — Plenty of times this season, the Broncos have stressed the need to start games faster. Ending them faster also might be a good idea.

In Week 5, the Broncos stormed back from a 17-3 deficit early in the fourth quarter to win 21-17 at Philadelphia. So starting faster became a goal entering their Week 6 game against the New York Jets.

The Broncos (4-2) did better in that regard, taking a 10-6 lead at the end of the first quarter Sunday in London. But they managed just three points the rest of the way and had to hold on for a 13-11 victory over the winless Jets (0-6) in London.

“It’s something that we’ve got to have a heightened awareness to and to the attention to detail,’’ head coach Sean Payton said after practice Wednesday at Broncos Park about the inconsistency of the offense entering Sunday’s home game against the New York Giants. “It’s the little things. … That has to happen fast.”

While the Broncos are No. 2 in the NFL in both scoring defense and total defense and are coming off an astounding nine-sack game against the Jets, they rank just No. 20 in scoring offense and No. 15 in total offense.

Even though the Broncos pulled out a win over the Jets, their offensive showing was troubling. They had just 175 total yards, including just 71 in the second half.

“Everybody’s got to be on high alert,’’ tackle Mike McGlinchey said when asked about the inconsistency. “It’s a matter of playing that smart ball where you can’t give up a penalty, you can’t bust an assignment, you can’t get beat in a critical situation. … Because the defense we’re playing this week is no joke. So we got to be ready to go.”

Actually, the Giants aren’t that good on defense, ranking No. 20 in points allowed and No. 28 in total defense. But the other New York team is No. 28 in points allowed and No. 20 in total defense, and the Jets sure slowed down the Broncos.

Penalties continue to be an issue for the Broncos. They had six for 37 yards, which might not seem like a lot but they came at inopportune times and bogged down drives.

“We go from a third-and-1 to third-and-(15) on one drive,’’ tight end Adam Trautman said of a second-quarter possession when the Broncos were at the Jets’ 39 but then had two penalties and were pushed back to their 47 before punting. “That’s a (potential) scoring drive.”

In the second half against the Jets, the Broncos did not get a first down on their first four possessions. One was a one-play drive in which Denver guard Quinn Meinerz was called for holding in the end zone. That resulted in a safety, giving the Jets an 11-10 lead with 4:56 left in the third quarter.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix did not complete his first pass of the second half until he hit tight end Evan Engram for 12 yards with under 10 minutes left.

“It literally felt like a relief after we got the first down,’’ Nix said of the play. “It was like, ‘OK, we know how to move the ball now, let’s go do it again.’”

To the Broncos’ credit, on that possession they did put together a 12-play, 65-yard drive that led to a 27-yard field goal by Wil Lutz that gave them the lead for good at 13-11 with 5:06 remaining.

Still, nobody on the Broncos denies they need to be more efficient on offense. Nix on Wednesday talked about playing with more tempo.

“I just like it because it gets the defense off balance,’’ Nix said of a no-huddle offense. “They don’t have many calls that they can get to when you go quick, and we just play well from a quick game and getting to the ball, seeing what they’re in, just finding answers and going. I think it’s just tough on defenses.”

How efficient the Broncos can be on offense will depend a good bit on their offensive line. Payton said it wasn’t up to par against the Jets.

The Broncos played their first game without starting left guard Ben Powers, out until at least December with a torn left biceps muscle suffered against the Eagles. McGlinchey didn’t deny that “it’s not easy to replace him.”

Matt Peart started for Powers and had three penalties, two for holding and one for a false start. It turned out that Peart suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee early in the game and ended up playing all 60 offensive snaps.

“He didn’t even ask to get it looked at,’’ McGlinchey said. “It’s putting it on the line for our football team, putting it on the line for himself and his career. That’s an unbelievable unselfish player.”

With Peart placed Tuesday on injured reserve, a strong possibility to start at left guard Sunday is third-year man Alex Palczewski. McGlinchey called him “exactly the kind of guy you want on your team” and said he is “so tough.”

Against the Giants, the Broncos will try to get their running game going again. They managed just 78 yards against the Jets, including 28 in the second half.

After he averaged 80.4 yards in the first five games, Denver’s J.K. Dobbins was held Sunday to just 40 yards on 14 carries

“It’s definitely frustrating,’’ Trautman said of the Broncos’ recent woes. “We’re always talking about starting fast and we’ve started slow a couple of times. So when you we start fast and then we kind of get into a lull, it’s a kind of a shock to you.”

Payton has talked about the Broncos being a legitimate Super Bowl contender and their defense certainly helps in that regard. But to truly be a contender, they might need an offense that more often can start fast and finish fast in the same game.