The Broncos have to run the ball
Following the Brandon McManus field goal that put the Denver Broncos up 20-12 with 10:06 left to go in the fourth quarter, the Broncos had two more opportunities to put the game away before Brady drove down the field for what could have been the game-winning touchdown. In those drives, the Broncos ran the ball three times for 5 yards, taking just 1:14 off the clock.
That’s inexcusable.
First off, there is no reason why the Broncos should have thrown the ball on three of those six downs. At that moment, their biggest enemy was the time left on the clock, and they lost; they gave Tom Brady and the Patriots offense way too many chances to get back into the game.
Second, they need to find a way to generate the type of running attack that is going to allow Gary Kubiak to feel comfortable calling three straight running plays. Right now, that seems to be a 50-50 proposition.
And when I say 50-50 proposition, I’m referring to the snaps where C.J. Anderson is in the backfield, not Ronnie Hillman.
Now, Anderson didn’t have a great game — without his one big 30-yard rush, he would have averaged just 2.6 yards per carry — but even that’s better Hillman’s 1.5 yards per carry. Plus, unlike Hillman, Anderson has proven that he’s capable of breaking out runs of 20 yards or more on a weekly basis.
Sunday marked the sixth time in the last seven weeks where Hillman rushed for an average of 4 yards or less; Anderson has only done that once in the last 11 weeks.
As I’ve been saying for the last month, the Broncos need to run the ball, and they need to start doing it with C.J. Anderson. They’ve got one more opportunity to make that happen.
