Before this slump becomes a crisis, the Broncos need Peyton Manning to be a leader first and a quarterback second.

His NFL team is in trouble. Yes, the record is 7-3, but it feels as if the Broncos are at a crossroads, laboring under “Super Bowl or bust” expectations, with a berth in the AFC playoffs no longer an absolute guarantee. To get Denver out of this mess, the beautiful mind of Manning can’t help him now. It’s a matter of guts.

“Your sense of urgency has to increase and realizing that there aren’t many games left. And we better get on it, better get going. Need to play better. I need to play better,” Manning said Wednesday.

At a critical juncture for the Broncos, with their status as Super Bowl favorites swirling down the drain, their coach sitting on a hot seat and the hogs in their offensive line dissed for being softer than apple sauce, it’s not the arm of Manning that can save Denver now. It’s his heart.

Manning returned to football after four neck surgeries and the even crueler cut of being fired by the Indianapolis Colts. So the toughness of the reigning league MVP is not in question.

Manning, however, made his reputation on Star Wars numbers (521 career touchdown passes) rather than by spitting into the wind, pumping a fist or rallying the troops. In disheartening losses at New England and St. Louis in recent weeks, the cameras often found Manning stuck wearing a frown on the sideline.

To finish strong in the six remaining games of the regular season, what these hurting Broncos need from Manning is not gaudy statistics but a strong shoulder to lean on.

The Denver offense has lost its mojo, its identity and its continuity. The Broncos are so desperate for answers on the offensive line that they have a guard (Louis Vasquez) playing tackle and a tackle (Orlando Franklin) playing guard. Does that make any sense? Or have the Broncos outfoxed themselves? With Manning yammering faster than a telemarketer at the line of scrimmage, new center Will Montgomery might not know which way is up let alone which linebacker is the Mike.

“I know his head’s probably spinning at times, but I think he’s done a heck of a job,” Manning said.

So here is a humble suggestion: The Broncos need to quit treating offensive football as if it’s quantum physics. Get back to basics. Call the play. Snap the football. And execute. If offensive coordinator Adam Gase wants to show how smart he is, go be a contestant on “Jeopardy!” But, for now, quit worrying so dang much about outthinking the defense and concentrate instead on gaining 4 yards to move the chains.

Might simpler be better in the offensive game plan, at least until the Denver coaching staff stops playing musical chairs with blockers all the way down the line?

“I think that’s a valid point,” Manning said. “I think (Gase) has realized that and has done that. The plays we’re running are plays everybody should know, regardless of if you’ve been a starter since minicamp or you are in a new spot. The game moves so fast that we’re trying to give those guys a chance to play and not think a lot.”

The Broncos, with Manning at the controls, are the most cerebral team in the NFL.

Football, however, is a down-and-dirty sport. Nobody is better at teaching the game than Manning. But now it’s a question of whether Manning can get teammates to bury their self-doubt and run through a brick wall with him. Beyond all the physical gifts, know what made John Elway great as a quarterback? Fire in the belly.

“I don’t think we’ve not been playing with fire,” said Manning, thinking logically, dissecting a football problem as if it were an algebraic equation, as he always does. “I thought offensively, it wasn’t a lack of fire (that resulted in seven points against St. Louis), it was just a lack of execution, and that starts with me. Just have to play better. I certainly think there is plenty of fire there. But you have to have more than that. You have to have better fundamentals at quarterback and better decision-making.”

Manning burns with a passion to win. But the fundamental truth about the Broncos is when they get punched in the mouth, this team does not fight back.

The riddle for one of the smartest quarterbacks who ever lived: How does Manning light a spark under the Broncos before the championship fire goes out?

Mark Kiszla: mkiszla@denverpost.com or twitter.com/markkiszla