It takes a while for a newly established offense to formulate their identity, but the Denver Broncos offense may very well be on their way to discovering who they are under Sean Payton.
Denver Broncos run game is their identity
All off-season long, Broncos head coach Sean Payton talked about how important the rushing offense will be for the team this season. Throughout the course of the first seven weeks of the season, Denver has never fully embraced pounding the rock.
Injuries and circumstances have certainly impacted this. After Javonte Williams hurt his quad against the Chicago Bears in Week 4, it put further emphasis on Denver’s need to run the football to avoid becoming one-dimensional.
Undrafted rookie free agent Jaleel McLaughlin emerged as an explosive option with great vision, adding a true wrinkle to Denver’s offensive game plan.
In Sunday’s win against the Green Bay Packers, the Broncos running back trio showcased their impact when featured, especially with a healthy Javonte Williams.
Williams had 15 carries for 82 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry and running through contact. He also added three catches out of the backfield for 14 yards.
McLaughlin had five carries for 45 yards, averaging 9.0 yards per carry. His change of pace has been a challenge for opposing defenses this season.
Samaje Perine also had an impact for Denver on special teams, but also on offense. He had two carries for 10 yards but had several big plays for Denver in the passing game, hauling in three receptions for 31 yards and picking up two crucial first downs for the Broncos’ offense.
Those efforts helped the Broncos churn out a 145-yard team rushing performance on Sunday, which should be the formula going forward.
When the Broncos’ offense embraces balance between the passing attack and run game, they’ve been noticeably better and have had more sustainability on drives. Whenever the Broncos have leaned more into becoming a pass-heavy offense, it’s made it easier for opposing defenses to adjust and counter them.
“We felt like we were going to be able to do that,” Payton said of the Broncos rushing attack on Sunday. “We thought that was going to be important. It’s a really good front, rushing the passer—we just did not want to get in that game. I was pleased that—I thought the runners did a good job with it, and I thought when we look at the tape, we were in base—when I say their ‘base defense’ we wanted. We had a few nickel runs, but I thought that was important relative to what we were doing on third down.”
Going forward, Sean Payton should utilize more cow-bell when it comes to running the football with a three-stallion approach.
