{"id":1022728,"date":"2026-10-09T09:36:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T09:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1022728\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T09:36:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T09:36:40","slug":"broncos-j-k-dobbins-in-dark-spot-as-health-questioned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1022728\/","title":{"rendered":"Broncos’ J.K. Dobbins in ‘dark spot’ as health questioned"},"content":{"rendered":"

ENGLEWOOD \u2014 The Broncos<\/a> haven\u2019t had a 1,000-yard rusher since Phillip Lindsay<\/a> in 2019 and J.K. Dobbins <\/a>said before the season that he would apparently zoom past that milestone.<\/p>\n

The often-injured running back <\/a>vowed July 31 that he would play in all 17 games and that in rushing in the NFL he was going to \u201cbe No. 1 and I\u2019m going to keep it there for the whole year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Well, through four games, Dobbins has a meager 161 yards on 46 carries for the 2-2 Broncos.<\/p>\n

\u201cJ. K. right now definitely doesn\u2019t look like the same player,\u2019 Lindsay, who had 1,037 rushing yards for the Broncos as a rookie in 2018 and 1,011 in 2019, told The Denver Gazette on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Dobbins last season rushed for 772 yards while averaging 5.0 per carry before suffering a season-ending Lisfranc foot fracture in Week 10. But he is averaging just 3.5 per attempt this season, dropping his career mark from 5.2 to 5.1.<\/p>\n

After Thursday\u2019s practice at Broncos Park, Dobbins was asked about the considerable difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to play better,\u201d Dobbins said. \u201cI got to make my plays that I make. I ain\u2019t making them. I just got to make my plays, which I will. I\u2019m always going to find a way. And right now, it\u2019s a dark spot. That\u2019s part of being in the NFL, though. And I\u2019m going to find a way to get back to the standard that I know I can play at.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DenverDenver Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins (27) runs down field against the Los Angeles Rams Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, during the second half at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. The Broncos won 30-26. (Christian Murdock, The Gazette)<\/p>\n

Dobbins left a training camp practice early on Aug. 10 with what Broncos coach Sean Payton called a \u201csoft-tissue\u201d injury, and he didn\u2019t play in the preseason. In Week 3 against Jacksonville on Sept. 20, Dobbins didn\u2019t play in the fourth quarter due to what was announced as a hamstring injury and what Payton called a \u201cslight hamstring issue.\u201d However, when an injury report came Sept. 23, it was called a hip injury.<\/p>\n

Dobbins was asked Thursday if he is fully healthy entering Sunday\u2019s game at the Los Angeles Chargers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I\u2019m healthy,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m healthy. I\u2019m out there playing. Anytime, whether it\u2019s fully healthy, not healthy, 75 (%), 60, 80, 90, 100, if I\u2019m out there, I got to play good, you know what I mean. Like no matter what\u2019s going on, I\u2019m going out there, which means I think I can make plays. So if I\u2019m 60%, 80%, 90%, don\u2019t matter, I got to make my plays. I got to be me.\u201d<\/p>\n

For starters, Lindsay didn\u2019t like the boasts Dobbins made on July 31. He has been bogged down by injuries since entering the NFL in 2020, having entered this season playing just 47 of a possible 101 regular-season games.<\/p>\n

A rushing title? Dobbins\u2019 career high was 905 yards for the Chargers in 2024, when he finished 22nd in the NFL in rushing. He did average 77.2 yards in the first 10 games last season. Had he maintained that average for 17 games, he would have finished with 1,312 yards, well behind leader James Cook of Buffalo with 1,621.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think J.K. should have ever went out there publicly and said what he said before the season ever started,\u2019\u2019 said Lindsay, a co-host of the radio show \u201cThe Drive with Zach Bye and Phillip Lindsay\u201d on 104.3 The Fan. \u201cHe didn\u2019t have to say those words of, \u2018I\u2019m gonna stay healthy for a full 17-game season\u2019 and \u2018I\u2019m going to lead the league in rushing from start to finish,\u2019 and then \u2018pinkie promise\u2019 everybody that he was going to do this. If that\u2019s something in your head, I would keep it in my head. \u2026 I just think it\u2019s a little bit foolish (for Dobbins to say that).\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay said it looks like Dobbins is \u201cnot healthy.\u201d His top output this season has been 49 yards on 17 carries in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams. In last Sunday\u2019s 24-14 loss at San Francisco, he had 11 carries for 40 yards.<\/p>\n

\"DenverDenver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay (2) is hit by Chicago Bears linebacker Kylie Fitts (49) during a preseason NFL football game Aug. 18 in Denver. (Associated Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cAgainst the Jacksonville Jaguars, I believe he pulled his hamstring,\u201d Lindsay said. \u201cAt least that\u2019s what it looked like. \u2026 You\u2019re seeing him on the football field not as patient as he usually is. You\u2019re seeing him missing a couple holes he used to hit. You don\u2019t see that explosiveness like you did last year before the injury to his foot. You don\u2019t see a guy out there as confident as he usually is. \u2026 If you are hurt, you got to stay out and get healthy because you\u2019re no good to yourself and you\u2019re no good to your team if you can\u2019t explode out of there when there is a hole that is made for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay wondered if the 5-foot-10, 212-pound Dobbins has fully recovered from his Lisfranc injury last year, which required surgery.<\/p>\n

\u201cJ. K. is over 200 pounds and that weight is always on the legs and the knees and cutting off the foot and the ankle,\u201d Lindsay said. \u201cI think that\u2019s a process (coming back from the surgery). It takes time for you to truly feel like yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindsay also said the Broncos\u2019 offensive line must do a better job blocking for Dobbins.<\/p>\n

Dobbins turns 28 on Dec. 17. Lindsay is confident that Dobbins can get going again, but realizes it would create big issues for the Broncos if he doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be a huge problem because you gave this man $20 million, with $8 million guaranteed, to be the best version of his himself to help this run game with the thinking that would help take pressure off (quarterback) Bo Nix and off this defense,\u2019\u2019 Dobbins said of the two-year deal, $16 million contract Dobbins signed last March, which includes incentives to make more. \u201cIt\u2019s forcing Bo Nix to put more pressure on himself on third-and-long because (the Broncos) can\u2019t get the run game going.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Broncos are No. 29 in the NFL in rushing with an average of 81.3 yards per game while averaging 3.6 yards per carry. Their second-leading rusher is RJ Harvey, who has carried 12 times for 49 yards for a 4.1 average while having missed the Jaguars game with a hamstring issue.<\/p>\n

Against the 49ers, Dobbins started the game but didn\u2019t get his first official touch until was 10:28 was left in the second quarter and he was stopped for no gain. During his period of inactivity, Dobbins was visibly frustrated on the sideline.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI just love the game,\u201d Dobbins said. \u201cI\u2019m a passionate guy, so whatever you saw it was just me wanting to win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as winning the rushing title, Dobbins now ranks No. 30 in the NFL. He is 376 yards behind Kansas City\u2019s Kenneth Walker, who leads with 537.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ENGLEWOOD \u2014 The Broncos haven\u2019t had a 1,000-yard rusher since Phillip Lindsay in 2019 and J.K. Dobbins said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1022729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[925,232,231,258,2426,7,601,6,1235,1813],"class_list":["post-1022728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denver-broncos","tag-bo-nix","tag-broncos","tag-denver","tag-denver-broncos","tag-denverbroncos","tag-football","tag-j-k-dobbins","tag-nfl","tag-phillip-lindsay","tag-sean-payton"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117410279682781847","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1022728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1022729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1022728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1022728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1022728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}