In the Denver Broncos' win over the Las Vegas Raiders last week, head coach Sean Payton showed a clear commitment to running the football. Whether it was RJ Harvey, who led the team with rushing, or the fullback Adam Prentice, the Broncos wanted to run the ball.
And they did. Well.
The Broncos ran for 152 yards against the Raiders in one of their most impressive performances on the ground this season. In fact, that was their third-best rushing total in any game this season, right behind the 28-3 rout of the Cincinnati Bengals (186 yards) and 44-24 rout of the Dallas Cowboys (179 yards). With what the Green Bay Packers have shown in their ability to defend thie run this season, the Broncos' biggest advantage might be hiding in plain sight.
Broncos running the ball well will be crucial in beating Packers in Week 15 matchup
The Packers have the 9th-ranked run defense coming into their game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, but they were much better in the first half of the season against the run than they have been in the second half. In their first seven games this season, the Packers only allowed over 100 rushing yards one time, and it was their tie against the Cowboys.
In the last six games, they've been much more susceptible.
During that stretch, they've only had one game as a defense in which they allowed fewer than 100 yards, and have averaged allowing 127.7 yards on the ground each game. Furthermore, it's not just meaningless yards being racked up against the Packers.
Over the last three games, the Packers defense has seen opponents run the ball 50.87% of the time (5th highest in the NFL).
— Ryan (@RyanHeckmanNFL) December 2, 2025
In those same three games, opponents have a 46.15% rushing first down pct. (5th highest in the NFL).
While they boast a top-10 rush defense, overall, they…
Going into their game against the Bears, they had allowed the 5th-highest rate of runs that went for a first down (from Week 11- Week 13).
The commitment to the running game is going to be crucial for the Broncos for a variety of reasons. The obvious first reason is that it will continue to build up RJ Harvey's confidence as the season goes along. The Broncos are going to need him to be in peak form entering the playoffs.
Another huge reason? Running the ball helps keep the ball out of Jordan Love's hands. Against the Raiders, the Broncos won the time of possession battle 39:00-21:00. It was a completely dominating effort on the ground, and it wasn't just breaking off a huge run every once in a while. The Broncos wore them down.
Against the Packers, they'll be going up against a much better defensive front, of course, but the goal will still be the same. The Broncos need to run the ball early and often in this game against the Packers. Hopefully, they can get out to an early lead and play some ball control against the Packers. We've seen the results when the Broncos run the ball well this season, and as great as Green Bay is, you could expect similar results if they find a way to have another big game on the ground this week.