With the injury sustained by JK Dobbins in the final minutes of the Denver Broncos' Week 10 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Broncos might need to prepare for life without Dobbins. Given the gravity of Denver's matchup with the Chiefs this week, life without Dobbins can't have much of an adjustment period. The Broncos have zero room for error this week.
With Dobbins out, the Broncos are going to need to find a new tempo to their offense, and an offense that has largely been without an identity all season. The lone consistent has been the running skills of Dobbins, which have kept the floor of the Broncos' offense high enough that they have been able to win games throughout the year.
Given the magnitude of their matchup this week, the Broncos are going to need to immediately replace Dobbin’s production. Luckily for Sean Payton, he needed to develop an extended run game for an entire season last year, and still made the playoffs. Given some of the weapons the Broncos have on their offense, they should be able to do just the same if Dobbins is out this week.
Here are three ways the Broncos can replace Dobbins' production in Week 11 against the Chiefs
3) Increase designed runs for Bo Nix
When the Broncos offense has been at its best, Bo Nix has been using his legs. His legs engineered a few Broncos comebacks this season, and they might need him down the stretch this year. Using his legs more, specifically on a power run, could result in more success for Nix and the Broncos, especially against the Chiefs.
2) Extended run game with screens
The Broncos have run more screens than any other team in football this year. With Marvin Mims returning to the fold this week and seemingly an increased workload for RJ Harvey, the Broncos could use a strong screen game this week. Extending the run game with screens and short passes would help, and the signing of Lil'Jordan Humphrey might tip their hand in that regard.
1) Feed RJ Harvey
For Harvey, this could be the biggest game of his career. The UCF product saw 14 carries in Denver's Monday Night Football matchup against the Bengals, and could push that mark this week if JK Dobbins is inactive due to injury. He has seen a limited workload as a rusher the past few weeks, but can make his first strong mark as an NFL rusher with a big game in Week 11, when the Broncos need it the most.