Montee Ball, Ronnie Hillman's Instant Fantasy Reaction After Week 3

The ground game was non-existent for the Denver Broncos in Sunday's Super Bowl rematch with the Seattle Seahawks, and that led to fantasy dud performances for Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman.

The Broncos invested in the run early, but it didn't pay off one bit. Ball had 14 carries for just 38 yards and Hillman's two carries went for two yards in Denver's incredible comeback that ended in a sour overtime defeat.

Ball coughed it up on the first play, and after he failed to turn things around after that, Denver was forced to look elsewhere as Around The NFL noticed:

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Denver was horrible as an offensive unit—again—versus Seattle until the late moments. It turned things around to force overtime, but by then Peyton Manning was forced to air it out and abandon the run game entirely.

Luckily for the Broncos, they won't face the Seahawks again in the regular season. But the near future doesn't look much better. After a Week 4 bye, Denver faces the Cardinals, Jets and 49ers—three of the best defensive fronts in football.

Player	CAR	YDS	TD	AVG
Montee Ball	14	38	0	2.7
Ronnie Hillman	2	2	0	1.0

Simply put, the Broncos' offense doesn't perform like this often. With tough foes ahead and a bye week upcoming, they'll make the necessary fixes to turn things around.

But should they struggle to establish the run early and fall into an early hole, it could be more of the same 

Don't jump at Ball's dud performance as he's almost guaranteed to get the touches necessary to turn things around—especially in this potent of an offense. He should be started in most fantacircumstances, although it's likely he's no longer the most productive back on your roster.

As for Hillman, he's a deep-league fantasy option in the first place, and it's wise to steer clear of him until the Broncos face more favorable opposition.