Despite being the clearly better team on Sunday morning, the Denver Broncos found themselves desperately trying to hold onto their one-point lead over the New York Jets. Still, with five minutes remaining in the London, England game, Quinn Meinerz held a New York defender in the endzone, awarding the Jets with two points and an 11-10 lead. Denver’s next two drives were three-and-outs.

The Broncos finally put together a 12-play, 65-yard drive, which ended in a Wil Lutz field goal, stamped by the only goal-to-go situation for either team. New York had only nine total plays with possession of the ball for the rest of the game, and Denver escaped with an underwhelming win.

Even after beating the defending Super Bowl champions in Week 5, though, this kind of performance felt more than possible, and it’s because Denver doesn’t know how to play a clean game six weeks into the season.

Meinerz's hold in the end zone was the biggest mistake of the game, and it could have cost Denver the game, but that wasn’t the only time on Sunday that a costly mistake ended a drive and rewarded the Jets.

On the Broncos’ third offensive play of the game, receiver Troy Franklin put the ball on the floor, and New York recovered the ball. Despite gaining just three yards following the turnover, New York still scored three points on the possession.

Denver ended the game with six penalties for 37 yards, while the Jets committed just two penalties for a total of 15 yards. The 4-2 Broncos nearly lost to the 0-6 Jets, who are six games into the Aaron Glenn era, because of self-inflicted mistakes.

To be fair, offensive guard Ben Powers’ absence slotted backup lineman Matt Peart into the lineup, and he was responsible for three penalties, according to Pro Football Focus.

Penalties have been a detriment to the Broncos’ season so far. In fact, if they played four quarters of clean football consistently, they very well could have been undefeated.

Against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2, Denver led for the entire fourth quarter. The clock even hit zero with the Broncos in the lead, but a leverage penalty on the missed game-winning field goal attempt gave the Colts another try, which they sent down the middle of the uprights.

In Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver had a four-point lead and had the ball at the Chargers’ 4-yard line, but a Franklin offensive pass interference set Denver back 10 more yards, forcing them to settle for a field goal and remain up one possession instead of two.

After the defense forced a punt, the offense then had a chance to extend the lead, but after offsides and face mask calls, a second-and-6 turned into a second-and-20 and an eventual three-and-out.

The Chargers took advantage of the opportunity, scoring a touchdown on the following drive and a game-winning field goal as time expired on the next drive. This season, Denver is tied for the fourth-most penalties in the league with 49. It has 448 penalty yards against the team, which is the second-highest mark in the league. A mix of poorly timed penalties and spotty situational play calling is responsible for the Broncos’ two losses so far this season. Contending teams don’t have this issue, especially not at the end of the season, but Denver’s defense has been elite enough to get the Broncos out of a few of these situations.

While the New York offense is far from a juggernaut, Denver racked up nine sacks, driving the Jets 55 yards back, and since Jets quarterback Justin Fields passed for just 45 yards all morning, Denver held New York to -10 net passing yards.

If the offense looked like it did in the fourth quarter of the win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Denver would be undoubtedly a contender. The issue is that it more often looks like the unit that couldn’t score on a lackluster Tennessee Titans defense and fell short against the Chargers.

A win’s a win, and Denver is still second in the AFC West with a 4-2 record, but this season isn’t just about winning regular-season games; it’s about building toward a postseason run. The Broncos aren’t going to amount to much if they don’t polish their on-field product. In fact, they could miss the playoffs if they continue being as prone to mistakes as they have been through six weeks.