The New England Patriots are gearing up to avenge demons in Denver that go back a generation to the Tom Brady days. The Pats got a great break when it was revealed that Bo Nix would be out for the remainder of the playoffs with a broken ankle and that Jarrett Stidham would be starting for the Broncos, but a new update on Denver’s personnel may be a bad sign for New England.
Denver has opened the practice window for running back J.K. Dobbins, who suffered a Lisfranc foot injury back in week 10 that was thought to be season ending. But, it seems like Dobbins has recovered quickly enough that he’s given himself a shot to play this weekend against the Patriots and add an entirely new dynamic to Denver’s run game.
The Broncos’ run game is already down one of it’s most important pieces in Nix, who picked up 356 yards and five touchdowns on the ground in the regular season.
Dobbins Was Poised For Massive Season Before Injury
In the 10 games that Dobbins played before his foot injury, he was having one of the best campaigns for a running back in the league. He was already at 772 rushing yards and four touchdowns; he was averaging over five yards per carry, a great pace for a 10 game stretch.
Now is Dobbins the type of game breaking running back like Christian McCaffrey or Derrick Henry or Saquon Barkley? No; but that doesn’t mean his addition back into the lineup wouldn’t give the Patriots trouble defending the run.
Because he’s missed so much time, there’s no recent tape on his game, making him harder to prepare for if he is able to go.
In Denver’s Divisional game against the Buffalo Bills, the Broncos run game was non-existent. It was a shootout, meaning Nix had to work in the pass game more often (he attempted 46 passes), but Nix also attempted 12 rushes for just 29 yards. Jaleel McLaughlin and RJ Harvey only had 10 rushes combined, only carrying the ball for 41 total yards.
The addition of Dobbins back into the offense would give Denver a much better chance to establish the run game early and often, especially with Stidham under center. The Broncos will likely be looking to spend much more energy on runs and gadget plays than passing, so Dobbins would have a massive affect on how Denver’s offensive approach is enacted.
Patriots Heading Into a House of Horrors In Denver
Historically, the Denver Broncos have owned the Patriots at Mile High Stadium in the playoffs. There were three things that limited the Tom Brady Patriots in the playoffs: Eli Manning, Nick Foles, and Mile High Stadium.
The last two Pats-Broncos playoff games at Mile High were the AFC Championship games in 2013 and 2015, both losses for New England.
This is obviously a matchup between two entirely different teams 10 years later, but the generational impact of this matchup has weighed on the minds of Pats fans for a long time.
Hopefully for New England, Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel are up to the task of heading cross country and winning a game in high altitude with high pressure on both sides.
Patriots Get Bad News About Broncos Personnel Ahead of AFC Championship