Denver Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins was ruled of Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots due to the foot injury he sustained in Week X against the Houston Texans, with the move reported in a story written by Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
Getting Dobbins back was always considered a long shot given that the recovery timeline for the Lisfranc injury he sustained was optimistically set for late January. The running back returned to the Broncos facility as soon as his rehab made it practical for Dobbins to do that, and it was no secret within the building that he was pushing for an early return.
The news represents yet another blow to the Broncos after losing starting quarterback Bo Nix to a broken ankle in Denver’s 33-30 win over the Buffalo Bills. Backup QB Jarrett Stidham will step in, and the running game will be in the hands of RJ Harvey and Jaleel McLaughlin, neither of whom has done much to date.
Harvey is a small back who has struggled to run between the tackles, and while McLaughlin has had some effective slashing runs based on his quickness, he’s not the answer either. It’s fair to wonder if GM George Paton and coach Sean Paton regret not adding a bigger back after Dobbins went down, and this could be a priority for the Broncos next year.
As for Dobbins, he’ll become a free agent again this offseason, but at least he’ll be healthy. The Broncos will almost certainly have interest in re-signing him, Dobbins will also draw plenty of interest if his medicals are sound.
Having Dobbins would have helped Payton protect Stidham with a rejuvenated running game, but that option is off the table now. Expect the Broncos to “let it rip,” with Stidham on Sunday, to use Payton's words, but Denver is a heavy underdog in this one.
The Broncos did get some good news on the injury front, as receiver Pat Bryant will return to the lineup after sustaining a concussion against Buffalo, and Bryant will go into this one with no injury designation. This will give Stidham an extra target, so that’s a plus, but his big task will be to avoid bad throws and careless interceptions that have proven costly in his career to date.
In other injury news, a number of players were listed as questionable, including Center Alex Forsyth (ankle), wide receiver Troy Franklin (hamstring), safety JL Skinner (quad), and center Luke Wattenberg (shoulder). Nix has been ruled out, of course, while tight end Lucas Kroll (foot) and linebacker Drew Sanders (ankle) have also been ruled out.