ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos reached their bye week wanting to find rest for injured players and answers for ways to restart after a 3-6 beginning to the season.

But after sifting through what has gone right and gone wrong leading up to their bye, what they really, really want to find is six more points each week. One answer the Broncos' search has revealed is that how they start games has affected how they finish.

"I think getting off to a better start and playing with a lead for this football team is key and finding six more points a game," Broncos coach Vance Joseph said. "It's really obvious when you watch our tape why we haven't scored six more points a game."

The Broncos' starting point for all of that is essentially the first impression they've made each week. They have scored only eight first-quarter touchdowns in their nine games combined, and just six of those have been by the offense -- Denver's defense scored twice in the first quarter of the victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

In fact, in the four games since the team's Oct. 7 loss to the New York Jets, the Broncos' offense has put together two combined first-quarter touchdown drives. In short, the team's script of plays isn't working, and it has forced Denver to consistently play from behind.

"I think the mindset is where you start," Broncos quarterback Case Keenum said. "Making sure that we go into games wanting to control it from the start. Try to hit the ground running. Run our best plays that we love right off the bat."

There have been very few such opportunities indeed. The Broncos have held the lead just 30.6 percent of the time this season overall, and in four of their losses they had the lead for less than a quarter.

They have opened just two games with touchdowns on their first possession; it hasn't been any better after halftime, as they have managed just one touchdown drive on their opening possession of the second half, with none since Week 2.

"As an offense, we haven't put the pressure on [the opponent's] offense to score points," Keenum said. "I think offensively, we can do a better job of putting teams in tough spots coming into our stadium to play."

That does speak some to the Broncos' preparation on offense, given that they do script their opening series of plays for each half. Joseph said part of the to-do list this past week involved a hard look at what has gone right and wrong on offense, including how the Broncos have used their various personnel groupings.

They have been dominant at times running the ball -- they are tied for the league lead with the Chargers and Panthers at 5.2 yards per carry -- but are 16th in rushing attempts. And with two of the league's sack leaders on defense -- linebackers Von Miller and Bradley Chubb have combined for 17 sacks -- the Broncos are built to do what they haven't done much to this point: play with the lead.

"When our defense can rush the passer that's when we're at our best," cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said. "We hold the coverage, they rush, that's when we do what we do best.

"There's been very few games where we've been up by two scores, controlling the game and letting Von, Chubb and those guys ... just rush the passer. We've been in that stadium when it feels like every play, you're just waiting for a sack [by the Broncos' defense]."

The Broncos could have opportunity to make it right given that, over their final seven games, they don't face a defense that is currently among the league's top 10 scoring defenses. And they will face four teams -- Cincinnati, San Francisco, Cleveland and Oakland -- that are currently ranked 24th or lower in scoring defense.

"Even after watching our cutups from the first part of the season, you can get excited about our football team," Joseph said. "We're doing some good things. ... It seems like every game, we're chasing. ... We have to start better and we have to find six more points a game. We do that, we can win a lot of these games that we've got remaining. I think our football team has to get out of chase mode and get into lead position, so we can rush and cover."