Broncos’ run game becoming concern
There was that flash of a moment Sunday, early into the game between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, that it appeared the Broncos had figured out their running game.
On Denver’s first offensive play, second-year tailback Montee Ball burst forward, through the first layer of the Seattle defense, churning forward for 4, then 6, then finally 9 yards. It was exactly the type of impact run on first down the Broncos had so desperately been seeking this season.
Then came a fumble, the ball ripped from Ball’s arms by safety Kam Chancellor. Denver’s running game would never recover in the Broncos’ 26-20 overtime loss.
The Broncos kept trying to run — there were 19 more rushing attempts after Ball’s first carry ended in disaster — but Denver averaged 1.8 yards a carry.
Ball, in his third game as the Broncos’ starter, had 38 yards on 14 carries. His backups, Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson, fared worse, with Hillman picking up 2 yards on two attempts and Anderson losing 3 yards on two carries.
The reality for the Broncos as they head into their bye week is that while they might be a muchimproved team on defense, and Manning still arguably leads the league’s most feared passing game, Denver’s running game is lagging.
Through three games, the Broncos rank No. 28 in rushing at 75.3 yards a game, nearly 42 yards a game fewer than Denver averaged last season.
“We need a lot of work on it,” Ball said Monday. “It starts up front, starts with the tight ends, and with the running backs, too. Collectively, we all need to sit down and focus on it, and I believe we will.”
The Broncos went into Sunday’s game in Seattle prepared to use a lot of two-tight end sets, with Virgil Green joining Julius Thomas as an extra blocker, a plan that fell apart when Green suffered a concussion in the first half. But still, the Broncos were committed to running the ball, with 14 rushes and 16 pass attempts in the first half.
Included in those final rushing attempts were run calls on a third-and-9 and a third-and-10 in the second half, resulting in no gain and a 2-yard loss — hardly the type of conservative calls you might expect for a Manning-led offense.
In hindsight, were the Broncos too conservative early against the Seahawks? That was a question for coach John Fox on Monday.
“I don’t know. Are you trying to say running the ball is more conservative?” Fox replied.
Expect the running game to get plenty of emphasis during Denver’s two practices before players are excused for the bye week. For Ball, it won’t be a restful break, knowing how much improvement he and his fellow running backs need to make when they return Oct. 5 against the Arizona Cardinals.
“We’re close,” Ball said. “That’s a really good team we played. We fought extremely hard all the way to the end, but, yeah, we have to get the running game going. It’ll happen.”