Sean Payton made a lot of ado leading up to Week 4 about the offensive identity and philosophy of the Broncos' offense, and their changes were clear as day on Monday night against the Bengals. The Broncos took a brand new approach to their running back tandem in their 28-3 victory, and it benefited both JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey incredibly.
Denver rushed for 186 yards on Sunday night, a new season high, and saw both running backs play a major role in their offensive explosion. In total, Denver accumulated 512 offensive yards, their most since Peyton Manning's best years in Denver.
Of those 512 yards, Denver backs accounted for 151 on the ground and 59 through the air, totaling 210 all-purpose yards. Denver also saw JK Dobbins rush for 101 yards, their first 100-yard rusher in the Sean Payton era.
Sean Payton has finally figured out how to balance Denver's dynamic running back duo
For the first time this season, the Broncos finally had balance in their offensive backfield. Dobbins and Harvey combined for 30 carries, 16 of which went to Dobbins and 14 to Harvey. Sean Payton said after the game that the team adjusted their approach to utilizing both backs, trying to give them an entire drive or series as opposed to consistently rotating them in and out based on the play at hand.
Denver was able to do just that, and it seemed to show great results. Both backs had their best days of the 2025 season so far, and Denver had by far their most offensive balance of the Sean Payton era. Denver ran 80 total offensive plays, 38 of which resulted in a rushing attempt, which is also the most of the season.
Looking more into how they played, however, it's clear that Denver also found balance in utilizing both backs when on the field. Harvey's 14 carries are more than he had in the three weeks before entering the game, while his four receptions also served as a career high. He was used more in pass protection than usual as well.
As for Dobbins, Denver continued to use him as a traditional work horse back, but this time with a new twist. Dobbins saw 36 snaps, 17 of which resulted in a play being run in his direction. Overall, his snap count rate plummeted from 67.3% in Week 3 to 44.4% in Week 4, which is a season low. Closely behind Dobbins' 36 snaps was Harvey with 33.
Denver has seemed to find their balance: use Harvey more often than before, open up his playbook, and ensure Dobbins is touching the ball or in pass protection when he's on the field. This formula worked incredibly well for the Broncos on Monday night, and could be exactly what they look to do in Philadelphia next week.