It's not a secret that the Denver Broncos have not been able to run the ball well this season. While rookie running back Jonah Coleman is on IR, that shouldn't excuse the run game from being as bad as it is.
Denver has the fourth-worst run game in the sport, and unless it gets going soon, the team's offense is going to sputter. Across the first 10 games of the 2025 season, J.K. Dobbins had the team's run game in a great spot. He was averaging 5.0 yards per carry and was, at the time, on pace to finish with over 1,300 yards on the ground.
Well, this year, he's averaging just 3.5 yards per carry and is on pace for just 684 yards, which would be nearly 100 yards less than his 10-game total from 2025. Here in Week 5, given the circumstances, now is the time for the veteran running back to get going.
The Denver Broncos need J.K. Dobbins to get going, and Week 5 is when it should happen
The big change the Broncos made this week was Sean Payton taking back the play-calling duties after just four games. Denver ranks near the bottom of the league in a ton of key categories, and it's simply unsustainable. If the team were to maintain the same level of offense the rest of the season, they'd likely only win two or three more games, at best.
Well, with Payton taking play-calling duties back, it's clear that he thought a change needed to be made. The team is sitting at 2-2 and has played a gauntlet of opposing defenses this year, but that shouldn't be any excuse.
With how poorly Denver has run the ball this year, the team should feel somehow optimistic about playing a Chargers defense that has allowed the 11th-most rush yards in the sport this year. The defense has actually given up 314 rush yards across the last two games alone.
For reference, the Broncos have 325 rush yards through their first four games this year. At this point last year, the team had 573 yards. No matter how pass-happy the NFL may get, establishing the run is the first thing that an offense tries to do. It opens up the pass and allows teams to get under center and work off play-action.
It's not a mystery why the run game is so important to any offense - just look at what the Kansas City Chiefs have been able to do this year with Kenneth Walker III and their offense. Now that the Broncos' schedule is beginning to lighten up, the run game getting going would be flat-out ideal, and Week 5 is a near-perfect chance for this to happen.
Not only does Dobbins have the talent to help spark the rushing attack, but he's obviously a former Charger. I can't speak for Dobbins and say that he still wants to 'stick it' to his old team, but there could be some motivation in that regard.
Last year, Dobbins was on the field when the Broncos played the Chargers in Week 3. Despite only having 11 touches, he amassed 83 yards and a touchdown. The 7.5 yards per carry he averaged was the highest per-carry total he had all year.
For a player that pinky promised the Broncos that he'd be on the field all season, and a player that the team is clearly still relying on, getting the run game going in Week 5 feels like the unofficial deadline for the season.
If the Broncos can't get this going against a banged up, winless team, when will it get going? And when you add in the play-calling change, it feels like there could be a perfect storm brewing. While Dobbins may not be a 15 carries per game-type of player anymore, he is still probably the best runner the Broncos have at the moment.
If there was any game this year that the veteran has a breakout game, it needs to be in Week 5.
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