It's been an up-and-down year for the Denver Broncos
so far, but despite questions about their offensive struggles, they're 5-2 and just half a game back of the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West. After Denver's win on Sunday over the Arizona Cardinals, a game in which they jumped out to leads of 20-6 early in the third quarter and 27-13 before the fourth, optimism is warranted ahead of Sunday's rematch with the Chiefs.However, even amid the Broncos' three-game winning streak, a question posed to J.K. Dobbins didn't seem to sit well with the starting running back. Although head coach Sean Payton has utilized multiple backs on several occasions this season, Dobbins has been the unquestioned lead runner. But with the Broncos holding a decent second-half
lead, Dobbins got just six carries for 23 yards and one touchdown, while Jonah Coleman (nine carries, 54 yards) got more work after not seeing a single offensive snap since Week 2.
Longtime Broncos reporter Mike Klis of 9NEWS asked Dobbins what it was like when the young backs were "running ahead" of him, as they did in the second half against the Cardinals. Dobbins responded bluntly, quickly asking if he "watched the game" and then pointing to his first-half production. Dobbins added that he averaged 5.5 yards per carry in the first half of that game and cited his focus on playing 17 games to explain his light second-half workload, as Rachel Vigil of Mile High Sports reported.
.@mikeklis9news asked J.K. Dobbins about being the veteran in the running back room with the younger players (Coleman and Harvey) running ahead of him...
— Rachel Vigil (@heyrachelvigil) October 29, 2026
This was quite the exchange. pic.twitter.com/BR73yAgLGC
The back-and-forth was certainly tense, and realistically, Dobbins' argument is probably fair. His 87 carries are far and away the most in the Broncos' backfield, with RJ Harvey second (24 carries) and Coleman totaling 19 this season. Dobbins also had double-digit carries in each of the five games before Sunday and 35 over the past two.
On the other hand, Klis' question is understandable, given the significant change from previous games throughout the year. The Broncos found themselves in a rare position against the Cardinals with a decent-sized lead, as they had won their four prior games by a touchdown or less, and the 24-14 loss in between to the San Francisco 49ers was a one-score game until just over midway through the fourth quarter.
The Bo Nix discussion is worth mentioning alongside J.K. Dobbins' start to 2026 season
Another important part of the running back conversation is Dobbins' numbers this season. However, that's not as cut-and-dry as it seems. Dobbins averaged 5.0 and 4.6 yards per carry over the past two seasons (the latter with the Los Angeles Chargers), but has just 293 yards on 87 attempts (3.4 ypc) and three scores this season.
But pointing to Dobbins' decline in yards per carry shouldn't fall entirely on the 27-year-old running back. Quarterback Bo Nix has struggled in several games this season and, before Sunday, had only one game with an average yards-per-pass attempt above 5.5. Denver's inability to stretch the field seems to have contributed to the offense's inconsistent running game.
Nix has also topped 200 passing yards in only three of seven games and has completed just 59.2% of his passes over that span. If the Broncos can get the passing game rolling again and open up the field while using weapons like Courtland Sutton and Jaylen Waddle, it'd go a long way toward making life easier for Dobbins and his backfield mates.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Broncos' J.K. Dobbins fires back at reporter during tense exchange
