The Denver Broncos improved to 6-2 and jumped to the top of the AFC West standings following a huge win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. The game featured another furious fourth-quarter rally from Bo Nix and the Broncos, unbelievably snatching the victory away from Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
The Broncos have now won six of their last seven games and will hit the road next week to face the Carolina Panthers, who will be coming off some extra rest after playing on Thursday night in Week 8.
Looking at the offensive and defensive snap counts from this game, let's see what can be taken away from them and what might be noteworthy for the team moving into Week 9 and beyond.
Takeaways from Broncos' Week 8 snap counts
Jonah Coleman has usurped J.K. Dobbins: Regardless of what the Broncos'
depth chart says, Jonah Coleman is clearly the team's top running back going forward. The team has recognized that, and the snap counts reflect it.
Coleman saw 41 offensive snaps in this game, while Dobbins was given only 13. Dobbins gained one yard for each snap he saw (13 yards rushing), while Coleman posted 102 total yards and scored the game-winning touchdown. Dobbins has never looked the same since suffering a foot injury last season and Coleman just has much more burst coming out of the backfield.
Jahdae Barron sees his role reduced: With Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss both back in the lineup, Jahdae Barron saw his snaps take a sharp decrease this week. He was on the field for just four defensive snaps.
With starting #Broncos cornerbacks Pat Surtain and Riley Moss both playing all 69 defensive snaps and Ja'Quan McMillian getting 56 snaps at nickel Sunday, that left just 4 snaps for Broncos CB Jahdae Barron (with 16 on special teams). CB Kris Abrams-Draine had no defensive snaps…
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) November 2, 2026
It's a good problem to have, as the Broncos are loaded at the cornerback position. But it's also tough to see such talented players as Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine being used so sparingly.
Safeties step up with starters down: Talanoa Hufanga missed another game with an ankle injury and Brandon Jones left the game after tweaking his hamstring. With both starting safeties down, the play of Taylor Rapp, Devon Key and JL Skinner can't be overstated.
All three safeties saw action on the defensive side of the ball, with Rapp getting 56 snaps, Key seeing 49 and Skinner getting nine. Though Skinner saw less than 10 snaps, he made one of the game's biggest plays.
The depth in Denver's secondary has shown up in a big way this season.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: 3 takeaways from Broncos' snap counts in Week 8
