Denver Broncos rookie running back Jonah Coleman had himself a day in his second career game in the NFL against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Coleman had 13 touches for 56 yards and a touchdown, thriving in his fist extended action in the absence of RJ Harvey (hamstring) and the late departure of J.K. Dobbins (hamstring) on Sunday.
Following that performance, Coleman has been nominated for the Rookie of the Week award. Fans can vote for Denver's running back on the NFL's official Twitter/X page.
Coleman ran hard, through tackles, and showed off his speed on runs late in the fourth quarter, helping seal a 20-13 win over the Jaguars. On Coleman's final carry of the day, he ran for 12 yards before making a heads-up decision to slide and stay in-bounds
to bleed the clock prior to the two-minute warning.
Jonah Coleman with a heads up play to stay in bounds and go down after picking up the first. pic.twitter.com/b3rjBgmChq
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 20, 2026
Coleman's veteran play in the late stages of the game impressed Broncos coach Sean Payton.
"He played well," Payton said in his postgame comments on Sunday. "We work on four-minute [situations], but that certainly didn’t feel like a rookie series, if you will. He came up big, and we needed it. You carry three [running backs] on gameday like everyone else. We were down to two and the fullback. Those guys did a good job, and then we found a couple schemes that we liked and stayed with it. His play right at the end, staying in bounds, that was something you cover, but maybe he doesn’t get those same reps in practice. He did a good job.”
@Browns | @Raiders | @Broncos | @Buccaneers | @pepsi
— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2026
The play from the fourth-round selection in the 2026 NFL draft also drew the praise of quarterback Bo Nix.
"Jonah played very smart for a young kid, especially at the end there for a minute when everybody knows we're running the football," Nix said on Sunday afternoon. "He has to protect the football, run in bounds, a lot of things are going through his head while he's trying to run the ball well. So he did that extremely well, very efficient and then obviously capped it off with the run down the sideline where he slid in bounds and that's just really good for a young guy. You can tell he does a really good job of paying attention and he's really smart and he's got a great football IQ."
"He's really smart and he's got a great football IQ."
— Guerilla Sports (@guerillasports) September 21, 2026
Bo Nix on Jonah Coleman #broncoscountry https://t.co/MWOPdKrXdd pic.twitter.com/vhZS4LAPZL
Coleman has caught the attention of Broncos coaches, his quarterback, and the fans. With Harvey and Dobbins still on the mend, Coleman could again see extended and meaningful action against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3, with the eyes of the nation on him. Coleman represents the future of the running back room. And from the looks of it, the future is very bright.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Jonah Coleman nominated for award after displaying ‘great football IQ’ in Week 2
