Warriors half Tanah Boyd suffered a suspected ACL injury before his teammates rallied to overpower an ill-disciplined Brisbane 42-12.
The star playmaker went down in the seventh minute of play on Sunday afternoon at Magic Round while in possession.
His right knee was tested by a Warriors medico and he limped off, amid fears for the worst.
"It's a potential ACL. We are not writing him off yet, but early indications are that it will be," Warriors coach Andrew Webster said.
"We've had a great win here tonight and got one of our own in there who doesn't have clarity on his future for the next 12 months, so we are behind him and feel for him."
Boyd was replaced at Suncorp Stadium by former Broncos playmaker Te Maire Martin.
The second-placed Warriors were too big, too strong and too smart, and first-half tries to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Erin Clark, Wayde Egan and Kurt Capewell gave them a 22-0 lead.
Hooker Egan is in the mix for NSW and his scheming display enhanced his chances.
Prop Jackson Ford continued his stellar form to edge closer to a Blues debut.
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The Broncos, who suffered a third straight loss, were heavily penalised, and coach Michael Maguire questioned the consistency.
"There are some penalties that we will have to have a look at," he said.
"There were things that were in our control, but it was 10 penalties to one at one stage. I want to make sure that it goes both ways.
"The bye (next week) has come at a time where we can look at our game and see where we need to improve, because two or three weeks ago things were in a better place."
Broncos and Maroons forward Pat Carrigan was put on report in the 20th minute for a crusher tackle on Warriors captain James Fisher-Harris and will face a nervous wait.
Carrigan was also sin-binned after the Broncos made multiple ruck infringements.
Warriors winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira was also sin-binned for a high shot on Jesse Arthars.
Broncos fullback Reece Walsh was underwhelming before he went off for an HIA, which he passed, and appears to not have done enough to dislodge Queensland incumbent Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow or red-hot fullback contender Kalyn Ponga from the No.1 position.
Brisbane hit back inside two minutes of the second half, with captain Adam Reynolds starting and finishing a sweeping movement to score the first of his two tries.
Another Broncos error gifted Ali Leiataua a try under the sticks, and any hope of a comeback was snuffed out when an Egan dart sent Martin over and the rout escalated.
Boyd has been a catalyst for the Warriors' surge to second on the NRL ladder.
He recently re-signed until the end of 2029, which led to fellow half Luke Metcalf joining St George Illawarra from next year on a three-year deal.
Warriors halves have suffered serious injuries in consecutive seasons against the Broncos.
Last year, Metcalf ruptured an ACL in the round 17 clash against the Broncos, also at Suncorp Stadium.
It was Metcalf's absence at the start of this season that enabled Boyd to assert himself as the chief No.7 at the Warriors.
Metcalf, who had been given a break while determining his future, will now have to battle with Martin to replace Boyd in the weeks ahead.
Broncos winger Phil Coates had a mixed night on debut but did a great job to leap high to catch a Walsh bullet pass and set up Reynolds.
