Jonah Coleman didn’t need much time to make his case for a bigger role in Denver’s backfield.
In his first game back from an ankle injury, Coleman stepped right in and led the Broncos’ running backs in the team’s Week 7 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Denver rolled to a double-digit victory, breaking what had felt like a long stretch of only winning one-score games, and the ground game looked noticeably smoother with Coleman back in the mix.
Coleman had been placed on IR after the Week 2 win over Jacksonville, which kept him out for Weeks 3 through 6. Against Arizona, he got nine carries and turned them into 54 yards, good for 6.0 yards per attempt. He also caught two passes for 15 yards, finishing with 69 total yards on 11 touches.
The rest of the running back group didn’t come close to matching that production. J.K.
Dobbins and RJ Harvey combined for nine carries and only 29 yards. Dobbins, in particular, seemed to fade after the opening drives, while Coleman held up well on passing downs too.
What stood out most was the way Coleman ran. His vision and ability to burst through open lanes gave Denver a different gear.
Harvey brings explosiveness, but not the same feel for the cutback or the crease. Dobbins, meanwhile, has the vision but no longer shows the same burst to get through the hole.
That’s why the argument for Coleman as the Broncos’ primary back feels pretty straightforward after this game. Denver sits at 5-2 for the second straight season and now heads back home in Week 8 for a matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, a game that looms as one of the biggest on either team’s schedule. If the Broncos want to build on this run before their Week 10 bye, Coleman’s role should only grow from here.
One game won’t settle everything, but Coleman’s return from IR offered a clear reminder of what Denver looks like when he’s on the field: more efficient, more balanced, and a lot more dangerous.
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