The Denver Broncos got a big win yesterday against the Las Vegas Raiders, 24-17, and it allowed the Broncos to keep pace with the New England Patriots in the race for the top seed in the AFC. Denver was determined to play ball control in this one, and they succeeded emphatically, albeit against a lesser opponent.
There was one player on offense who especially stood out, and it wasn’t quarterback Bo Nix. Nix had an astoundingly high completion percentage in this one as he went 31-for-38 for 212 yards, and thankfully his usual fourth-quarter heroics were largely unnecessary.
Instead, it was running back RJ Harvey who came through. Harvey didn’t post huge numbers as he rushed for 75 yards on 17 carries to go with a touchdown, but he proved that he might be able to provide the same kind of basic production that running back J.K. Dobbins was giving the Broncos before his foot injury.
"He played his ass off, and he's been playing his butt off," said offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey in a story written by Jeff Legwold of ESPN. "And I can't wait to see what he keeps doing."
Harvey’s rushing touchdown in the third quarter gave him five for the year, which leads the team, and he also leads the Broncos in overall touchdowns with nine.
"RJ is coming into form, he's making humongous plays for our football team," McGlinchey said. "He did a little bit of everything. He protected well when he needed to, ran the ball well, obviously caught a lot of passes that moved the chains."
Legwold also noted the interesting timing behind Harvey’s emergence. Dobbins was placed on IR right after the Broncos’ 10-7 win over the Raiders back in early November, and at the time coach Sean Payton said that Harvey “had to grow up fast.”
The defense has noticed that growth process as well.
"It speaks for itself ... RJ does it all," said Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers. "He catches the ball, he runs the ball, he blocks, I mean he tries to block me in practice. To be a rookie and show that it means the most to us."
His presence also gives Nix yet another weapon. The Broncos have some tough opponents coming up, so it’s a bit of a mystery if Harvey can do this going forward, but the running back definitely made the quarterback’s life easier yesterday.
"He can do so many different things and do them well," Nix said. "Thought he ran the ball hard, he was hard to tackle. He's really starting to get it, he understands things. ... He's just playing, he's just doing his job and doing it at a high level."