Broncos secret offensive weapon will have to wait until the Super Bowl

The Denver Broncos won't have JK Dobbins out there for the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.

Although the Broncos opened up Dobbins's 21-day practice window and potential return from injured reserve, he won't be returning to the team for the AFC Title Game. Dobbins was officially ruled OUT by the team on the final injury report after practicing on a limited basis this past week.

This is likely just precautionary, and it was always extremely aggressive to think he could return at this point. But if the Broncos can find a way to win the AFC Championship Game...

Broncos won't have JK Dobbins until the Super Bowl (potentially)

When it comes to injuries in the NFL, absolutely nothing is guaranteed. Head coach Sean Payton refused to delve into the hypotheticals when it comes to what Dobbins' role could be over the weekend, and that was before the injury report came out.

This feels as much about the Broncos protecting Dobbins as they are protecting themselves from the temptation to put him out there before he's ready, which would obviously risk long-term injury. Dobbins suffered an injury against the Raiders back in early November on what he said was an illegal hip-drop tackle. He got additional opinions about the injury, but has missed every game since then after having a procedure to repair the damage done.

Even at the time of the injury, there was speculation that Dobbins could return yet this season. The initial thought was that he could potentially return if the Broncos reached the Super Bowl, which would have still been an aggressive and optimistic timeline.

But it does appear as though the team and Dobbins are on that trajectory.

Typically, what we've seen from the Broncos this season is a player having his window opened/activated, and then they let that player ramp up for at least a couple of weeks at practice before officially bringing them back. Now, that would obviously have to be on a case-by-case basis, because every injury and every recovery process is different.

However, the idea that the Broncos could get Dobbins back at any point this season -- even if it's not until the Super Bowl -- is exciting. Before his injury, he was undoubtedly the team's most consistent source of offense. He was averaging career-highs in both yards per game and attempts per game. Unfortunately, the injury bug hasn't yet been exterminated from his life.

Dobbins' NFL career has been so promising, yet so snake-bitten at the same time. And it's football; injuries happen.

If the Broncos were able to get Dobbins back in the Super Bowl, should they make it that far, it would be a massive jolt to the running game. The Broncos have struggled to find consistency in the running game, to say the least, since Dobbins went down. Since that game against the Raiders, the Broncos have had four games with less than 100 yards rushing as a team. They've had very little consistency in that area at all, but we'll see how they do against the Patriots for at least one more game without Dobbins.

And in the Super Bowl? The secret weapon may actually be able to be used.