The Denver Broncos ran the ball quite well earlier in the season, and it was mostly thanks to JK Dobbins, a home-run free agency signing back in June. Unfortunately, Dobbins suffered what appears to be a season-ending foot injury against the Las Vegas Raiders a few weeks ago.
There does seem to be a chance, though, that Dobbins could return later in the playoffs if the Broncos are still in it, which would be ideal. Denver has struggled to run the ball without Dobbins, as RJ Harvey just has not found his groove yet, and Jaleel McLauglin is a low-ceiling player out of the backfield.
Well, Dobbins not being in has hurt the run game, but the return of this underrated offensive starter could have a bigger impact on the run game than we might think. Hopefully, Denver gets him back very soon.
The Broncos' run game got statistically worse the second Ben Powers left the lineup
The run game got worse the second Ben Powers left the lineup. Powers suffered a biceps injury in the team's win over the Eagles back in Week 5. In those five games the Broncos had Powers in, they averaged a healthy 140.6 rushing yards per game.
In the seven games he has missed since then, the run game is producing just 104.1 yards per game. Now, yes, Dobbins getting hurt has also contributed here, but there was a five-game stretch earlier this year where Ben Powers was hurt and JK Dobbins was still in the lineup. During those games, Denver averaged just 116.6 yards per game.
Broncos rush YPG with a healthy Ben Powers: 140.6
— Lou Scataglia (@LouScatagliaPO) December 2, 2025
Broncos rush YPG without Ben Powers: 104.1
Broncos rush YPG w/o Powers and BEFORE Dobbins got hurt: 116.6
Ben Powers returning to the lineup is going to instantly help out the run game. His reported two-month recovery is actually…
Sure, the offensive line is still a very good unit without Ben Powers, but it's clear that his impact on the run game is quite positive, so the hope here is that his return to the lineup is going to give this unit a boost at the right time.
Powers was signed back in 2023 and had not missed a game for the Broncos until this year. With the team extending Luke Wattenberg, though, you do have to wonder if Powers could be a cap casualty this offseason.
I would personally not like to see that, but Denver does have an abnormally large amount of money tied up along the offensive line now, and Powers is an asset in the trenches. If the Broncos' run game cannot get going, the team will indeed be one and done in the playoffs.
The recovery time from his biceps injury was reported as being around two months, and this week is the two-month mark, so perhaps there is a shot he plays in Week 14.