J.K. Dobbins isn’t pretending the Broncos’ offense is humming along just fine. After Denver’s 17-14 overtime win over the Seahawks on Thursday night, the veteran running back pointed straight at the quality of the opponent when asked about another uneven showing on the ground.
“It’s the Super Bowl champions,” Dobbins said post-game. “They got a great defense.
They adjusted... That’s part of being in the NFL and part of playing these great teams with great defenses.
They adjusted, and they did a good job.”
That answer fit the moment. Denver got the win and moved to 4-2, but the offense spent far too much of the night grinding in place.
The Broncos ran for only 74 yards against Seattle, and after a first half that helped build a two-score cushion, the ground game disappeared once the Seahawks made their halftime adjustments. What followed was a string of three-and-outs and a lot of uncomfortable football.
The passing game didn’t offer much relief either. Bo Nix finished with 106 passing yards, and Seattle limited Denver to 94 net passing yards thanks to a pair of sacks.
Still, the Broncos took care of the ball, and that mattered. Zero turnovers helped them survive a game in which the offense rarely looked clean.
That wasn’t an accident against this defense. Seattle came into Week 6 ranked No. 2 in net yards and passing defense, No. 1 in yards per play and takeaways, and No. 3 on third down. The Broncos knew they were dealing with one of the league’s best units, and Dobbins made it clear he sees that as the main reason things got so sticky after halftime.
“Shoot, we just have to execute,” Dobbins said. “You know, we’ve played some really good defenses. Every single team we’ve played has a really good defense.”
He wasn’t offering an excuse so much as a blunt reality check. Denver has run into a brutal stretch of defenses to start the season, and the numbers reflect it. The Broncos’ offense sits in the bottom five across several major categories, but the schedule context matters too: they’ve faced the second-toughest slate so far against opposing defenses, along with the toughest against opposing offenses.
Dobbins, though, wants the focus to stay on the fix rather than the backdrop.
“You’ve just got to go to the drawing board, and figure it out and execute,” he said. “That is what it comes down to: execution.”
For Denver, the hope is that the worst part of the schedule is finally behind it. The Broncos now get a mini-bye after playing Thursday night, giving them three extra days before a Week 7 trip to Arizona. That break may not solve everything, but it does give the offense a chance to reset before facing a different kind of test.
Dobbins’ own production has become part of the conversation, too. He’s carried the ball 81 times for 270 yards and two touchdowns, a 3.3 yards-per-carry average that would be a career low if it holds up. The concern is understandable given his injury history - a torn ACL, a torn Achilles, and a bad plantar fascia injury last season - but it’s still early enough to say the verdict is undecided.
He hasn’t looked as explosive or as decisive as he did last year, and Denver’s offensive line hasn’t consistently created space in the run game. That puts more pressure on Dobbins to hit the hole decisively instead of dancing in the backfield.
As Sean Payton said last week, “The hardest thing to do in this league is play that position if you're not rushing the ball.”
That’s the challenge sitting in front of the Broncos now. If the run game can climb from the cellar and become at least a steady threat, it gives Nix a much better chance to settle in and play more like himself. If not, the offense will keep asking too much of a quarterback already fighting through a rough stretch.
In Other News...
Broncos Defense Just Raised A Bigger Question About This Team
The Broncos left Seattle with a 17-14 win that looked far more like a defensive statement than a tidy offensive performance. Denver leaned on a unit that was active from start to finish, with Kris Abrams-Draine making a crucial interception, JaQuan McMillian turning in the kind of tackling and playmaking that keeps drives from getting comfortable, and the front line setting the tone under coordinator Vance Joseph.
Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto were central to the pressure plan, and the way Joseph deployed his pieces gave the Seahawks little room to settle in. The bigger question now is what this defense can become if it keeps winning games while the offense sorts itself out, because on this day the Broncos did not just survive on the strength of their defense, they leaned on it heavily enough to make you wonder how often that formula can hold. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Face A Jonathon Cooper Decision With Big Fallout Ahead
Jonathon Cooper has been around the Broncos throughout his time on the NFL commissioners exempt list, even if he has not been on the field. Sean Payton said Cooper completed the steps required by the league after his domestic violence-related arrests, and the veteran defender is now being cleared to rejoin Denver as it prepares for Arizona.
The next phase still carries real consequences, though. Coopers trial is set for March, and the time he spent on the exempt list will count toward any future NFL suspension, leaving the Broncos to balance his return with the uncertainty that remains hanging over the situation. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Have A Backfield Problem They May Need To Solve Aggressively
The Broncos backfield has become one of the more obvious pressure points on a roster trying to push deeper into a championship window. Denvers running backs have struggled to give the offense much lift, and with the team still looking for ways to raise its ceiling, the idea of upgrading that spot has moved from a luxury to a real conversation.
One name that naturally comes up is Jonathan Taylor, especially if Indianapolis decides to start making major moves. A trade for a player of his caliber would not be cheap, and Denver would have to weigh the draft compensation against the kind of immediate impact he could bring. The bigger question may be whether the Broncos are willing to be aggressive enough to address the problem before it becomes a season-long limitation. [Read more 🡒]