Broncos’ Dobbins vows to recapture old form: ‘I’m gonna fix it’

DENVER — For Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins, the first six games did not represent the triumphant return to form for which he and the team hoped.

Now, he hasn’t lost his grip on his “pinky promise” of early in training camp to play all 17 regular-season games. That remains in play, even as every other running back on the Broncos’ 53-player roster has suffered injuries, the latest of which was Tyler Badie during Thursday night’s overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks; he succumbed to a thumb injury.

Dobbins is averaging 13.5 carries per game; Badie, RJ Harvey and Jonah Coleman collectively average 6.2 rushing attempts a week so far this season. At Dobbins’ current pace, he’d accumulate a career-high 230 rushing attempts this campaign; he’s never had more than 195 in any previous single season.

But if he can’t substantially improve his per-carry average, he’s unlikely to get that chance. More work has yet to lead to greater effectiveness for Dobbins, who is averaging 3.3 yards per attempt — well off his career and 2025 averages of 5.0 yards per carry.

Thursday night, he averaged 2.4 yards per carry on his 17 attempts — and that included a 16-yard second-quarter gallop. That was the lowest per-carry figure he’s had in any game in which he’s toted the football at least 15 times.

Including receptions, Dobbins accumulated 20 touches in each of the last two games, and that got him into a rhythm — although he downplayed the significance of that.

“Shoot, I’m just here to help the team win. And I feel like that’s helping the team win,” he said.

But with 120 yards from scrimmage over the last six days, he averaged just 3.0 yards per touch in the wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks.

“The average — I know everybody keeps bringing up the average, a lot of people are used to seeing me in the 5 range,” he said.

“That’s gonna come. It is. It’s gonna get fixed. I’m gonna fix it.”

BRONCOS’ GROUND ISSUES GO BEYOND THE BACKS

But it’s a team effort.

Last year, the Broncos ranked fourth in run-block win rate, per ESPN Analytics. They went into Week 6 having fallen to 19th.

The solution overall in the running game is simply stated, but can be difficult in the tempest of a game day.

“Shoot, we’ve just gotta execute,” Dobbins said.

“We’ve played some really good defenses. Every single team we’ve played has a really good defense. So, we’ve just gotta go to the drawing board and figure it out and execute. That’s what it comes down to: execution.”

Through six games, the moments when the ground game overall has done so have been fleeting. It plays a role in helping out the struggling Bo Nix, too; if the Broncos are going to get teams out of using two high safeties on a frequent basis, the rushing attack must be a persistent enough threat to bring safeties forward more often.

It’s another reminder that the Broncos’ offensive shortcomings go beyond any one player or single aspect; they’re comprehensive. And while Dobbins has been the ball-carrier of record with twice as many rushing attempts (81) as the rest of the running backs combined (37), the issues — and solutions — don’t stop with him, or even the running-back corps.

But Dobbins still puts it on his shoulders.

“I’m gonna get it fixed for sure,” he repeated Thursday night. “I’m gonna start cranking out these 100-yard games again.”

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