Broncos have solid preseason debut, but Hackett not happy with run game

The Denver Broncos looked pretty darn good in their 17-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night.

Yes, it the was the first game of the preseason, but the Broncos did a lot of things well.

The offense and QB Josh Johnson moved the ball in the second quarter. Linebacker Baron Browning looks like a budding star. But there was one element of the team’s game that was lacking. And that was the ability to move the ball on the ground.

Denver’s rushing attack accounted for just 39 yards on 22 carries. Stevie Scott III led the way with 20 yards on six carries. JaQuan Hardy added five carries for 13 yards and former Pomona star Max Borghi contributed four rushing attempts for ten yards. Mike Boone had a paltry three carries for negative one yards and a key third-down drop.

Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett went out of his way in the postgame presser to announce to the world he wasn’t happy with the group.

“It’s always great to win. It is. But in the end, we’ve got a lot of work to do. I mean, that run game was not good enough. It’s that simple. I’m not happy with that,” Hackett said. “And we need to evaluate that both what we’re doing, how we’re blocking it, who’s blocking it. And I think that’s something we’re not going to be able to consistently win without getting that run game going.”

Obviously, top backs Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon didn’t play. Williams is the expected workhorse, and Gordon is battling a foot injury. Still, it would’ve been nice to see Boone get anything going, or any of the backups to pop. That didn’t happen.

The Broncos have two more preseason games to get it right, but for now, Hackett isn’t thrilled with something that should be a strength of this team.

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