Is J.K. Dobbins the secret weapon to the Broncos success against Jacksonville?

There’s a single line on the Broncos’ 2025 regular-season record that stands out from the rest. One home loss. Just one. And the team responsible for it, the Jacksonville Jaguars, is walking back into Denver on Sunday for a rematch that carries significantly more weight than it did a year ago.

The Broncos are 0-1 after a lifeless showing against the Chiefs on Monday night. The schedule doesn’t get easier. And the margin for error has already been spent.

But on a recent edition of “Dover and Cecil” on 104.3 The Fan, fill-in host Aniello Piro and Cecil Lammey identified one critical variable that has changed since the last time these two teams met, and it could be the difference between another disappointing result and the bounce-back performance Denver desperately needs.

Piro started by pointing to the roster difference that often gets overlooked.

“One big difference for the Broncos this time around against Jacksonville, versus the last time they played Cece, is having J.K. Dobbins available,” Piro said.

That absence mattered more than most fans realized at the time. The Broncos went into last year’s matchup without their lead running back, and the offense suffered because of it. Jacksonville controlled the game, handed Denver its only home loss of the regular season, and walked out of the building with a confidence that has clearly carried over into this year.

Piro emphasized how much the return changes the equation.

“The fact that you’ll have a healthy version of J.K. Dobbins for this game does make a bit of a difference,” Piro said.

Lammey took it several steps further, and his message was aimed squarely at the coaching staff.

“It makes a huge difference because you got him now, you gotta use him up. And that’s where ‘establish the run’ comes back in. Like, you have to get this going with J.K. Dobbins. He’s here, he’s ready to stay healthy, he’s ready to lead the way on the ground, he’s quite capable of that. In fact, he is in a top-5 category of rushers, if he’s healthy. And he’s healthy,” Lammey said.

That final sentence is the one that matters most heading into Sunday. Dobbins is healthy. The qualifier that has followed him throughout his entire career, “when healthy,” can be set aside, at least for this week. And when the qualifier disappears, what’s left is one of the most talented runners in the NFL. In just 10 games last season, Dobbins recorded 772 yards and 4 touchdowns on 153 carries. Those numbers, extrapolated across a full season, put him squarely among the league’s elite. The talent has never been the question. The availability has. And right now, he’s available.

The Broncos ran the ball just 11 times with Dobbins and RJ Harvey combined against Kansas City, despite both backs averaging over 4.5 yards per carry. That refusal to lean on the ground game was one of the most-criticized aspects of Davis Webb’s debut as play caller. Sunday against Jacksonville offers the immediate opportunity to correct that mistake. Dobbins is the kind of back who can set the tone for an entire offense. His physicality between the tackles opens up play-action. His ability to move the chains on early downs keeps the defense honest.

And his presence in the backfield gives Bo Nix the kind of safety net he clearly needed on Monday night.
The Jaguars know how to win in Denver. They did it last year without having to worry about Dobbins. This time, they won’t have that luxury. And if the coaching staff is smart enough to put the ball in his hands early and often, the Broncos may finally have the formula to beat the one team that figured them out at home.

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