Why the Broncos can lean on the run with Dobbins, Harvey

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A good football day sometimes brings rewards, and Denver Broncos rookie running back RJ Harvey left Empower Field at Mile High Sunday night with a couple of mementos of a job well done.

Harvey had a tight hold on his neatly folded jersey from the 44-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys and said he had the football from his 40-yard touchdown run put aside as well. Harvey showed the full menu of his game Sunday, and fellow running back J.K. Dobbins had his second 100-yard rushing performance of the season.

“I’m always confident in myself,” Harvey said. “[But it’s] just one game, hopefully I can continue to do that each and every game. I’m proud of myself, [but] a lot more work to do.”

The Broncos showed just how much their run game can power their offense in the blowout win, which featured the Broncos second-biggest yardage output of the season (426), when commitment meets production. Dobbins is now the first Broncos running back to have two 100-yard rushing games in a season since Melvin Gordon had three in 2021. Harvey had the first three-touchdown day of his young career — two rushing, one receiving. Harvey’s 40-yard scoring run accounted for most of his 46 rushing yards — “just a toss play to the left … nothing but grass, and I ran as fast as I could,” Harvey said.

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The Broncos averaged 6.4 yards per carry, as Dobbins led the way at 7.4 yards per carry in his 111-yard day. Dobbins had also topped 100 yards rushing in the Broncos’ Week 4 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

“We ain’t there yet. The dream is to get a ring,” Dobbins said. “I do know a lot of people who didn’t think I was going to be that good, to be honest. … I do know me and my boys, we went over another 100-yard game and I don’t know when that’s been done in the past [with the Broncos].”

The Broncos’ run game has been a bit of a riddle this season. Coach Sean Payton has consistently lauded its importance in the offense and in helping quarterback Bo Nix settle into games. And the players, from the linemen to the backs to Nix, have consistently said how good they believe the Broncos are at doing it. Earlier this season, Nix went as far as to say “when we run, we score.”

Yet the Broncos have struggled at times to find the flow running the ball. Payton had said earlier this month that he felt the Broncos hadn’t found their offensive identity yet and that they needed to “soon.”

“We still haven’t scratched the surface of what we can do,” Dobbins said.

Granted, the Cowboys’ defense came into Sunday’s game at or near the bottom of the league’s rankings in virtually every major statistical category. But it was still the best flow between Dobbins and Harvey this season. Many players said it was the best rhythm the team has found this season in the run-pass split.

The Broncos made the most of their 57 plays (a season-best 7.5 yards per play) with 28 rushing attempts to go with Nix’s 29 pass attempts. They had a similar run-pass split in the other two games in which they exceeded 150 rushing yards. When they rushed for 186 yards against the Bengals, they had 38 runs with 42 pass attempts. When Denver rushed for 151 yards in the season opener against Tennessee, it had 30 rushing attempts with 40 passing attempts. But the Cowboys, Bengals and Titans are currently 29th, 32nd and 26th in the league in run defense, respectively.

“But we knew we were capable of it,” tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “I don’t think we’re capable of scoring 33 points and only being able to score none in the previous three quarters [against the Giants]. … I think what we are and what we’re capable of was shown in the fourth quarter a week ago … showed guys the mindset we need to be in all the time on offense and we showed that [Sunday].”

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The Broncos are searching to find that rhythm and mix against the AFC’s power brokers to stay out of the pass-first pursuit mode they were in during the historic comeback win over the Giants a week ago. Three of the Broncos’ next four opponents — the Houston Texans, the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs — are currently No. 5, No. 12 and No. 13 in run defense through Sunday, so they will offer much more resistance. Still, the Broncos exited Sunday’s win with plenty of confidence.

Harvey, a former college quarterback before he became a high-volume running back at UCF, showed the versatility Payton coveted in him before the draft. The rookie scored on a run off a direct snap, an explosive rush when he showed his top-end speed and then on a reception.

Dobbins, who signed a one-year deal in June to join the Broncos, said he hopes to continue to show the lead-back capabilities he has at times this season.

“I’m proving myself right that I made the right decision coming [here],” Dobbins said. “To everybody here … offensive line is amazing, the defense is amazing, ownership is amazing, maybe I was born to be a Bronco, it just took a little time.

“I want to be a great team. I want to be like the Chiefs or like Detroit — we’re proving ourselves to be one of those teams.”