NFL: How Denver Broncos can use running game to end Kansas City Chiefs reign in AFC West

New tight end Evan Engram has stepped up big and new running back JK Dobbins is a guy they believe in. He’s currently fifth in the NFL for rushing yards (402) and tied-fourth for rushing touchdowns (four).

I love that head coach Sean Payton has “RUN IT!” at the top of his playcall sheet.

That shows how the Broncos are a team that wants to run first, because you can do a lot off the back of that. It slows down the pass rush and keeps you in favourable down and distances.

It’s also helped quarterback Bo Nix, who came into the league as the 12th overall draft pick last year, throwing 29 touchdown passes – second only to Justin Herbert for the rookie record (31 in 2020).

Josh Allen and Herbert have the arm strength to throw anywhere, but they don’t move in the same way as Nix. He has incredible arm talent, which is different, and he is so athletic.

His strengths are his mobility, being able to throw on the run, and finding different arm angles to make the pass when he rolls out of the pocket, the bootlegs. He can throw that layered pass across the middle or over the corner.

For a young quarterback, at 25, he’s got a lot of poise in the pocket and isn’t really fazed by the blitz. He tries to avoid a sack as much as possible and is able to throw under pressure. He has a high football IQ and is very decisive.

When you constantly run the ball it eats up the clock and forces the defence to be on the field for longer, and when you’ve got an athletic quarterback the defence has to cover the field vertically and horizontally. It can be exhausting.

Nix has bitten back at Payton on the sideline sometimes and I think the coach likes that attitude, that he’s such a competitor. I think it’s fun for him to have a young quarterback who’s kind of like play-dough. He can really build something up the way he wants to build it. I think it’s a special experience for him.

Payton has won a Super Bowl and now passed Bill Parcells for career NFL wins (173 – tied 14th overall). He’s seen it all. I think the success Denver are having on offence is mostly down to his leadership, his play-calling, his situational awareness – and the combination with Nix helps make him what he is.

You wouldn’t want a better guy in your ear, to help you through some of the tougher situations and build confidence.

I believe in Denver’s defence, in Bo Nix’s tenacity and composure. But are they good enough to go against an elite team at its best? Because that was not a Super Bowl performance by the Eagles last Sunday.

Right now, I don’t think the Broncos are incredible. They’re working above average, which is a good place to be in their division. All they need to do is maintain this trajectory.

They’re really good at leaning into their strength, which is running the ball, and that’s exactly what they should do against the New York Jets at Tottenham. It’s going to be the JK Dobbins show, essentially.

The Jets have allowed 140 rushing yards per game (sixth worst in the league), five rushing touchdowns this season (10th worst), and they’re the only team yet to win a game.

Since the NFL began tracking turnovers in 1933, the Jets are also the first team to be without a single takeaway through five games, which is kind of shocking when you think that their new coach Aaron Glenn was defensive co-ordinator at the Detroit Lions.