Denver Rushing Game's Showing On Sunday Could Determine Ultimate Trade Plan

Assessing the Denver Broncos' rushing attack through the first eight games of the season is a little like filling in the blanks in a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book.

For every game where it appears that J.K. Dobbins has run his way back into the circle of trust (68 yards in 18 carries against the Los Angeles Chargers), there are two or three where it looks like he's been sent back to the doghouse (8-for-36 and 7-for-13 lines in the two games against Kansas City).

When those bad games do pop up, it forces head coach Sean Payton to reiterate that Dobbins remains integral to the game plan, which is quickly followed by an outsider's view that Payton must be full of malarkey.

Then, just when R.J. Harvey looked like he had earned more reps, at least in the short passing game, courtesy of a three-games-in-four stretch from Weeks 4 to 7 in which he had a combined 15 catches for 153 yards (10.2-yard average) with a touchdown, he hurt his knee in practice before Week 8's game with the Chiefs and was placed on short-term IR, meaning the earliest he can return is the Dec. 6 contest against the Miami Dolphins.

With Harvey unavailable and Dobbins ineffective against the Chiefs last Sunday, rookie Jonah Coleman - who served his own stint on the sidelines with an injury from Weeks 3 through 6 - stepped up and filled the void with 41 yards rushing and a touchdown on top of five catches for 63 yards.

But are the Broncos willing to trust Coleman, who has played all of four games in the NFL, in the bell-cow role in the backfield?

Whatever the Broncos' stance on that question, it's abundantly clear that all of the injuries and periodic ineffectiveness - even quarterback Bo Nix is running less often and with less success this season compared to his first two - has played a role in Denver ranking 25th in total rushing yards (741), 26th in yards per game (92.6) and tied for 25th in yards per attempt (3.8).

Nevertheless, a cure for those rushing-game "blahs" may come as soon as Sunday when they travel to meet the Carolina Panthers (11 a.m. MT on CBS).

The 3-4 Panthers enter the game as one of the league's easiest defenses to run against this season. They have allowed opposing ball carriers to pick up a ninth-worst 985 yards through seven games for a per-game average of 140.7 yards allowed that is third-worst behind the Dallas Cowboys (152.8) and Las Vegas Raiders (146.4).

Carolina is also tied for last with the Baltimore Ravens (who have played two more games as of Friday) with 12 rushing touchdowns allowed, while they are tied for 26th in yards-per-carry allowed at 3.8.

All signs indicate that Coleman, who became the first Denver back with more than 100 total yards in a game this season when he tallied 104 against the Chiefs, will get first crack against Carolina's porous run D.

However, if he struggles and Dobbins doesn't pick up the slack, the mind of GM George Paton may just be made up for him concerning the question of whether or not a new RB will be added before the NFL trade-deadline window slams shut on Tuesday at 2 p.m. MT.