After a below-average performance in the victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, head coach Gary Kubiak challenged rookie running back Devontae Booker to have a bounce back game in week two.
Booker heard the head coach’s challenge and delivered, with an exclamation mark.
“[I] came in with the same mindset [as Week 1], but with a little bit of revenge at the same time, just to show everyone that I can play in this league and that I can contribute at any time and show the coaches [they can] have trust in me,” Booker said after the Denver Broncos’ 34-20 victory over the Colts on Sunday.
In a game where the running game would be crucial to final outcome, Booker came up big, finishing with 46 rushing yards on 9 carries (5.1 yards/rush) and hauling in one reception for 5 yards on his lone target.
Earlier in the week, after challenging Booker to do better, Kubiak told Booker that the team still had the utmost confidence in him.
“[Booker] is going to help us in the long haul and be a good player for us,” Kubiak said after the victory over the Panthers.
Kubiak backed up his words of confidence, playing Booker more against the Colts than he did against the Panthers.
“We talked as coaches before the game, play everybody. Don’t be afraid, play them,” Kubiak said after Sunday’s victory. “It’s nice to see ‘Book’ bounce back and play well.”
Booker, who couldn’t wait to get back on the football field after his fumble against the Panthers, said that having the coaches’ confidence was huge in his big performance against the Colts.
“It means a lot, especially for me being a rookie,” Booker said. “Not too many rookies have been thrown in the fire like I am. I am soaking up the game and continue to get better every day and every week so I can go out and perform like the way I did.”
The coaches not only believed in Booker enough to give him the ball for nine carries, but one of those handoffs was on the Colts 9-yard line. Although Booker didn’t find the end zone, he was very relieved to prove to his teammates that he will be an asset to this team.
“It felt good,” Booker said. “Just going out there and just playing ball, forgetting about whatever happened last week and all of that stuff. It was a whole new week and whole new game. Just came out and wanted to run out and do good for my team.”
Booker certainly “did good for his team,” accounting for just over 1/8 of the Broncos’ offense. With a monster bounce back performance against the Colts, Booker is riding a wave of confidence and momentum into next week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
While C.J. Anderson is no doubt the cowbell work-horse of the Broncos backfield, Booker’s evolution and continued development as the backup running back will be key to the Broncos’ offensive success in his rookie year.
