ENGLEWOOD – After a 41-7 loss at New England, Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey warned not to single out any reason for the team’s recent slump.

“You make a mistake trying to find one thing,” Bailey said. “It’s a lot of things. We know that. We just have to get better at every area of the game.”

Then Bailey was added to the list of problems after a test on his groin injury showed he will miss four-to-six weeks.

The 4-3 Broncos are guaranteed to be in first place in the AFC West when they face Miami next week. Holding onto first place will be difficult, especially with a recent rash of injuries. For the Broncos to find themselves in the playoffs come January, there are a few things they will have to do in the nine games after the bye.

1. Survive without Champ

Broncos opponents completed 72.9 percent of their passes with Bailey taking away half the field. Now, Bailey is out for at least a month. Bailey’s work on New England’s Randy Moss – one catch for 9 yards for Moss before Bailey’s injury, two Moss touchdowns after he left the game – showed his value to the defense.

Karl Paymah, who was benched from his role as the third cornerback, will replace Bailey with rookie Jack Williams as the third cornerback. Denver has also had spotty safety play, so the entire secondary will be tested often with Bailey out.

“We really can’t think about that,” Paymah said about losing Bailey. “We’ll go out there, and we’ll trust the next guy.”

2. Cutler rebound

After a fantastic start, quarterback Jay Cutler, right, and the rest of the offense has fallen into a funk. They didn’t break 20 points for three straight weeks, and didn’t break 10 points against New England. Cutler will get some help when tight end Tony Scheffler and receiver Brandon Stokley return from injuries.

“Hopefully we’ll provide a spark,” Stokley said. “We just have to go out there and do what we have to do and execute, and I think our offense will be fine.”

3. Keep up the pass rush

One positive from the loss to New England was the emergence of Denver’s pass rush, which had six sacks. Defensive end Elvis Dumervil, who wasn’t his usual self when he wore a cast over his broken right pinkie for the first few weeks of the season, looked healthy against the Patriots. He had two sacks. With Bailey out, Denver will struggle to stop the pass unless they get a lot of pressure, led by Dumervil.

“I’m looking forward to having a stronger second half of the season,” Dumervil said.

4. Establish the running game

Running back Michael Pittman said he looks forward to an increased role for the running game as the weather gets cold in the second half of the season.

“Hopefully it will be big,” Pittman said. “I’m excited about it.”

Running the ball and controlling the clock would also limit the time the defense is on the field. If rookie Ryan Torain comes back to play after the bye week, he’ll help provide some depth as a power runner behind Pittman. Selvin Young, who has missed two games with a groin injury, could be a change-of-pace backup.Win on the road

5. Win on the road

The bad news for the Broncos – aside from the various injuries and a 1-3 stretch into the bye – is in the second half of the season, five of their eight games will be on the road. Three of those games are against teams that are .500 or better. Despite a recent slide, the

Broncos can make a playoff push with a few road wins.

“It’s still a long season ahead,” said linebacker Boss Bailey, who will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. “We’re still in first place in the division, so we have to keep that in mind.”

Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel was sacked by Denver defensive end Elvis Dumervil during the first half Monday in Foxboro, Mass. Photo by MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE