The Denver Broncos’ run game and its overall consistency will be important for the team as they prepare for their second-half stretch of games in their quest to win the AFC West and host a playoff game in January.
Coming out of the bye week, Broncos head coach Sean Payton had a chance to evaluate things without having to worry about preparing for an opponent. Instead, the bye week served as a reflection on what has worked, what hasn’t, and what the team has to do differently moving forward.
With J.K. Dobbins sidelined for the remainder of the season with an injury, the Broncos have a stable of RJ Harvey, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Tyler Badie as their key three backs, but they also have fullback Adam Prentice, who has stepped up in various packages in the backfield and has been tremendous in pass protection.
In Denver’s win against the Kansas City Chiefs, they didn’t run the ball as much, and the overall production from a per carry standpoint wasn’t where it needed to be, but they managed to rattle off a few key first-down runs in the fourth quarter.
The Broncos only had 17 total rushing attempts between Harvey and McLaughlin against the Chiefs, and collectively the team finished with 59 net yards on the ground.
Going forward, Payton acknowledged the importance of establishing some rhythm and flow in the run game for the offense.
“The number of touches that we had, the number of runs we had was down,” Payton said. “I think looking back at it, [RB] Jaleel [McLaughlin] had a handful of good runs. I think with the flow of a normal game, he’s going to be important for us in this stretch. Obviously, [RB] RJ [Harvey] as well, and then [FB Adam] Prentice played probably one of his better games. He didn’t just play at the fullback position, but he actually went in with some of the pressure stuff that we were getting from Kansas City on third down and was outstanding.”
Jaleel is a back who is very capable of generating good flow for the offense, with the ability to break runs outside, but a patience to hit the gap and get north-south for three or four yards a pop.
Harvey is still developing inside the system, but he’s such a dynamic weapon. The coaching staff will have to continue to be patient with his development.
Regardless, if the Broncos are going to make a sustainable run in the AFC and the playoffs, the run game will have to be better than what it has been in terms of balance, frequency, and production.