Return of Broncos Running Game Keys Win over Chicago Bears

The Denver Broncos got back on the winning track in Week 11. After dropping two games in a row and benching Peyton Manning, the Broncos traveled to Chicago for a game against the Bears and former head coach John Fox. The Broncos were able to get the win over Fox with Brock Osweiler as their starting quarterback.

The offense greatly benefited from the return of an effective and productive rushing attack.

Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak had a message for the team during the week of practice.

“What we needed to do was go play clean football as a team. We’ve had many turnovers ... hurting ourselves, and the message this week was, let’s protect the football and play. We’ll play great defense. We’re consistent in what we’re doing there.” Kubiak continued, “And let’s not hurt ourselves as a team. I think that’s what we ultimately did.”

Kubiak emphasized what he saw from the rushing attack.

“We ran the ball well, we moved the ball well, we could have obviously scored some more points in some situations. But I think it got down to playing good defense and protecting the football. That’s a good combination in this league. If you’re able to do those things then you give yourself a chance every week.”

Let’s take a look at how the Broncos were able to get back to basics running the football.

Osweiler Effect

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

With an athletic quarterback under center, the Broncos were able to run the true Kubiak system. Osweiler is able to draw defenders away from the play side simply because he’s a threat to run. Defenders must now at least hesitate when deciphering a play or else run the risk of getting burned by Osweiler on the ground.

Kubiak likes what Osweiler can do in the design of his offense.

“He can do everything. He’s a very composed young man and the more he plays, I think, the better he’s going to get. We [ran bootlegs] a little bit, not a lot. They were up the field quite a bit but the threat of us doing that, I think, helped us run the ball a little bit.” Kubiak continued, “He’s a sharp young man. He has a lot of confidence in himself and he should obviously gain some more through this experience.”

The 36 rushes the Broncos had against the Bears is a season high. The 170 yards rushing as a team is also tops so far in 2015. The Broncos were able to post that yardage total without the benefit of a long run. The longest rush of the day was only 15 yards (done once by Ronnie Hillman and once by C.J. Anderson). This means the Broncos were picking up tough yards and staying committed to running the ball.

This commitment needs to continue for the Broncos going forward.

Hillman Tops 100

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

For the third time this season, Hillman had over 100 yards rushing in a game—but this was the first time he’s done that as the starter in 2015. Hillman carried the ball 21 times for 102 yards against the Bears. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry and was able to gain positive yardage on almost all of his carries.

Osweiler knows good things happen when the team can effectively run the ball.

“Anytime you’re getting four, five, six, seven yards on first down you’re putting your whole team in a great position. If you’re getting those chunks and you’re getting first down, second down, first down, or even first down, second down and third and one or two, now you have a choice to say, OK, we are going to run the football here, we are going to do a keeper, or we are going to throw it and you’re really keeping the pressure on the defense.”

Osweiler continued, “I thought the coaching staff called a great game today. I thought the guys up front on the O-line made plays all day. They gave me time in the pocket and they gave the backs holes.”

Hillman did a good job of finding the cutback lanes when they were there. If he pressed the hole to the outside, Hillman was able to outrun defenders at the second level and consistently gash the defense.

Provided the team stays with Osweiler and the true Kubiak system, we could see Hillman continue to consistently produce for the Broncos on the ground.

Anderson Hammers

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Behind Hillman, the Broncos feature power back C.J. Anderson. While Hillman is a speedy back, Anderson has the ability to generate plenty of power from his lower body and push the pile for extra yardage after contact.

With the game close, the Broncos turned to Anderson to help grind down the Bears defense. He finished the game with 12 carries for 59 yards. Averaging 4.9 yards per carry, Anderson was able to wear out his opponent and help the team achieve victory on Sunday.

Anderson was happy to get back in the win column.

“It always feels good to win. We just did our job today. Up front, they played well. Brock (Osweiler) managed the game we needed to. Me and Ronnie (Hillman) made the cuts. We just played well. We all did our job like we said we wanted to all week. We just got it done.”

Anderson provides the team with a power change-of-pace behind Hillman. These varying styles keep defenders on their toes as they have to deal with speed and power throughout the contest. The Bears couldn’t stop the Broncos on the ground, and they had trouble containing Anderson on his limited carries.

Summary

The Broncos can continue to run the ball like they did on Sunday with Osweiler at quarterback. The team was able to win the time-of-possession battle. The Broncos had the ball for over 33 minutes, while the Bears only had the ball around 27 minutes. That extra time was huge for the Broncos.

Kubiak was impressed with the team’s performance on the ground.

“We ran it pretty good. We ran it for 170 or something. We kept running, we had some really big drives out of the hole that maybe weren’t points for us but really changed the field position of the game. If we were better at short yardage today we maybe could have closed the game. That’s something we have to address and do a better job at.” Kubiak continued, “I think some of our boots, some of those things helped us a bit. They were up the field and helped us run the ball some.”

If the Broncos run the ball and play to the strength of the team (defense), then they can make a deep run in the postseason.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via the Broncos media department unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats via ESPN's employees-only database.

Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac. Transaction history provided by Pro Sports Transactions.