For all the personnel additions, schematic adjustments and focused attention, the Denver Broncos’ run game looked disappointingly familiar 50 minutes into Sunday’s season opener against the Tennessee Titans.

The Broncos had produced 60 yards on 19 carries, a shade over 3 yards per attempt. The longest run by Denver to that point had been an 11-yard scramble by Bo Nix, mimicking too many games last season in which improv by the quarterback amounted to the team’s most dangerous rushing threat.

However, to change the picture, veteran running back JK Dobbins said afterward, “Sometimes all it takes is one run.”

That run came on a first-and-10 play with 9 minutes, 22 seconds left in Sunday’s game, as the Broncos clung to a one-point lead and began a drive at their own 20-yard line. Rookie RJ Harvey lined up in a pistol formation, standing 3 yards behind Nix as the quarterback took a shotgun snap.

As Nix turned to hand Harvey the ball, left guard Ben Powers sprinted to his right to help right tackle Mike McGlinchey tag-team Tennessee’s game-wrecking interior force, Jeffery Simmons. The two linemen walled off Simmons and outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones on the right side while right guard Quinn Meinerz and center Luke Wattenberg moved 366-pound nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat to the left. Meinerz then quickly peeled off to find linebacker Cody Barton and push him ahead just enough to open a cutback crease for Harvey.

“They had two in a gap, (Harvey) saw it, and then his athletic ability took over,” McGlinchey said. “It was a great run.”

On just the fifth carry of his NFL debut, Harvey displayed the vision to see the narrow backside hole, the quick feet to cut into it, the strength and balance to break a tackle in the open field and the speed to turn it all into a 50-yard run. It was the longest rush for the Broncos since Latavius Murray’s 52-yard run in a game against the Carolina Panthers in 2022. It was also the third-longest run produced by any running back in the NFL in Week 1 and the longest for a rookie.

The Broncos really blocked up RJ Harvey’s big run well, including a well-executed pull from Ben Powers to help neutralize Jeffrey Simmons, who was a game-wrecking force all day. Then, the vision of Harvey to spot the backside crease in the crowd, cut into it, then break a tackle. pic.twitter.com/UmGx30dPaC

— Nick Kosmider (@NickKosmider) September 8, 2025

The big-hitter and the rushing success that followed — the Broncos rushed for 95 yards in the fourth quarter — left head coach and play-caller Sean Payton with an epiphany in the aftermath of Denver’s 20-12 victory. Fourteen of Denver’s first 17 plays Sunday were passes.

While Payton noted that some of the imbalance resulted from RPO plays that turned into passes or called run plays that were checked into passes based on a particular defensive alignment, the math told an obvious story.

“I’ve got to be better there,” Payton said. “It’s one of those day-afters where you look back and say, ‘Alright, let’s look at how we really wanted to start that game and get those two runners going,’ because we think we’ve really improved in that area.”

Three plays after Harvey’s explosive run, Dobbins registered a highlight of his own, powering through a broken tackle for a 19-yard touchdown run. Once again, the Broncos perfectly executed a combo block — McGlinchey and jumbo tight end Alex Palczewski this time — that moved Simmons out of the gap. It was the longest touchdown run by a Broncos running back since Melvin Gordon’s 47-yard scoring sprint against Kansas City during the final game of the 2021 season.

“Once I see a little crease,” Dobbins said, “I feel like I’m going to take advantage of it. That’s what I did. I had to break a tackle on the way there, but we got it done.”

J.K. Dobbins turns on the jets for the Broncos TD 🚀

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/MICnbDSpY3

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 7, 2025

The Broncos’ running game remains a work in progress. Dobbins and Harvey are newcomers. Tyler Badie is settling into a new role as Denver’s change-of-pace back, with his most substantive work on Sunday coming as a blocker and receiver with Denver’s two-minute offense. The Broncos are also incorporating more outside zone concepts into their overall run game. However, the message in the locker room — and then from Payton on Monday — was clear: the best way to get comfortable with the run game is to ride it from the outset.

“Those two guys (Dobbins and Harvey) are awesome talents and they’re going to be great for us,” McGlinchey said. “We’ve got to get them the football a little bit more.”

The Broncos last season saw four different running backs shuffle into ball-carrying roles. Three of those players — Javonte Williams, Audric Estimé and Jaleel McLaughlin — are either no longer with the team or, in McLaughlin’s case, were inactive Sunday.

Payton entered this offseason wanting to thin the rotation, returning to the two-headed rushing attack that he had become comfortable operating with during his years as the head coach in New Orleans. After Week 1, it’s clear that Dobbins and Harvey, as long as they are healthy, will be that 1-2 punch. They were the only players besides Nix to carry the ball Sunday, which was another new wrinkle.

In 2024, at least three non-Nix players had a carry in every single game. The Broncos only had one game last season in which the leading rusher (Williams, 17) had more rushing attempts than the 16 Dobbins had in Sunday’s win.

It is all evidence of an awareness that Denver’s running game can be much improved. It can be a primary reason the Broncos make a leap offensively, particularly if Harvey’s monster run Sunday was merely a preview of what is to come. Now, the Broncos need to lean in.

“Hopefully, it’s a point of emphasis, running the ball better and helping Bo out,” Dobbins said. “We’ve got to be better in all aspects.”

Quick snaps

• Payton said during his conference call Monday that linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who missed Sunday’s opener due to a quad injury, will see the field “sooner rather than later.” Justin Strnad played well while starting in Greenlaw’s place Sunday, finishing with five tackles and a sack.

There was no update on tight end Evan Engram, who left Sunday’s game with a calf injury in the second half.

• Safety Talanoa Hufanga left a big impression on coaches and teammates with his debut performance, which included 10 tackles, a forced fumble and a more unquantifiable energy that Payton called “contagious.”

“I found myself amazed talking to him (this offseason),” Payton said. “Amazed to his perspective, how he carries himself, how he communicates and this passion and drive to be real special and to win.”

• An unsung contributor to Sunday’s win: rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw. After struggling with consistency during the preseason, the sixth-round pick knocked his first two punts inside the 10-yard line. The second of those backed up the Titans against their own goal line with less than a minute remaining in the first half. The Denver defense forced a quick three-and-out, leaving the Broncos time to drive for a quick touchdown before halftime.

Crawshaw averaged 44 net yards per punt and put all three of them inside the 20-yard line.

“It always feels good to do your job,” Crawshaw said. “My job is to simply flip the field and pin the other teams deep. It always feels good to help the team when I can.”

(Photo of JK Dobbins: Tyler Schank / Getty Images)