The Denver Broncos must do what it takes to avoid a second 0-2 start in three seasons. For whatever reason, starting slow is in Sean Payton's head coaching DNA, and while his teams absolutely rebound in the following months, starting slow in September can end up derailing a season depending on how bad it gets.
The Broncos have two more September games, and finding a way to get to 2-1 would be outstanding and would set the team up to really give this record some breathing room. Well, in Week 1, the Broncos did just about nothing right, and one of the more egregious things that came from that loss was the overall lack of prioritizing the run, despite having a trio of fun running backs.
So, for Week 2, the formula to beat the frisky Jacksonville Jaguars truly starts with J.K. Dobbins, the team's best running back.
The Denver Broncos need to win the ground game over the Jaguars to earn a Week 2 win
The Broncos had just 11 total carries from their running backs in Week 1, with Dobbins getting eight and RJ Harvey getting three. Despite running so little, Denver gained 54 yards and averaged nearly five yards per carry.
Rookie Jonah Coleman did not see a single carry. This was Davis Webb's first time calling the plays in the regular season, and it came against a top defense in a primetime window, so the overreactions after the game felt, well, like overreactions.
The Week 1 game looks a lot different if the Broncos stick with the run game, or if they simple tackle at a collegiate level. While the score says Denver got blown out, the team shot themselves in the foot too many times to count.
And one of the easier ways this team can reverse the ugly Week 1 trends in Week 2 is to simply put the ball in the hands of Dobbins more. He's now played 11 games with the Broncos, and in those 11 games, he's averaged 5.0 yards per carry and has averaged 73.5 rushing yards per game.
He's an efficient player who possesses an extremely high floor, and establishing the run does allow the Broncos to extend drives and keep the Jaguars' offense off the field, which is the key here, as quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been on a heater over the last seven regular season games.
What's also interesting is that the Jaguars don't exactly have a stellar running back room. It's certainly not bad by any means, but in Week 1, Bhayshul Tuten, Ameer Abdullah, and Chris Rodriguez Jr. combined for 25 carries and 121 yards, but Tuten averaged a fine 4.4 yards per carry, and Rodriguez only averaged 3.8 yards per tote.
Denver can also deploy Harvey and Coleman for some carries, too, as it does genuinely seem like the depth of this running back room is quite good. In fact, the Broncos have totally revamped this room the past couple of offseasons, as fixing the run game has been a must for years now.
The Jaguars also may not be quite as good on the ground overall this year, as they failed to bring Travis Etienne back in free agency. While Jacksonville is still a very good team, the Broncos have to get back to the basics in Week 2, and it starts with Dobbins, who has honestly been the team's most consistent offensive player since arriving in Denver.
Add us as a preferred source on Google