The Denver Broncos' offense suffered a brutal blow all the way back in Week 10, when JK Dobbins left the lineup with a foot injury. Unfortunately, Dobbins has not seen the field since, and it's not even a guarantee that he returns this season.
The reporting has long been that Dobbins could return for the Super Bowl, if Denver makes it that far, but that isn't a guarantee. Fortunately, Denver has to win just two games to reach Super Bowl LX, and both get to be at home.
There appears to be an outside shot that the Broncos could get Dobbins back for that, though, and perhaps the first-round bye elevates those chances. In Week 18, Denver clearly didn't want to show much with the game plan and wanted to simply escape with a win, rather than show anything that could be used later in the playoffs. Unfortunately, nothing was working consistently, and the run game was again bad.
JK Dobbins' absence from the Broncos' lineup continues to be felt
Here are the rushing yardage totals by the Broncos in each game JK Dobbins has not played this year:
59
87
152
89
101
128
116
Denver is averaging just 104.6 yards per game on the ground in each complete game without Dobbins. Outside of the first quarter, where Denver seemed to run the ball with success, the rest of the afternoon was just not good enough.
RJ Harvey has largely been fine this year, but you can tell that he's still struggling to run between the tackles, which was a huge part of JK Dobbins' game. Jaleel McLaughlin is a competent backup, but he's best in a second or third-string role.
Overall, with each passing week that JK Dobbins isn't in the lineup, the Broncos' offense is suffering. The team did know the risk with signing Dobbins all the way back in June, but that doesn't take away from just how good he was in 2025.
The ideal scenario seems to be JK Dobbins being able to return for the AFC Championship Game. The Divisional Round seems to be too soon, but Denver may only have to win one more game off a bye week to see the veteran RB return to the lineup.
The Denver Broncos flawed offense could derail their Super Bowl hopes, but a potential return of JK Dobbins into the lineup would honestly be the single-best thing that could happen for this team when you consider the possible injured players who have a chance at getting back.