After ugly first half, Broncos’ J.K. Dobbins comes close to reaching 100-yard goal | Broncos notebook
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — When Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins showed up at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, his former teammates had a message for him.
Dobbins played for the Los Angeles Chargers last season, leading them with 905 yards rushing. He then signed as a free agent with Denver last June.
“That’s my old team,’’ Dobbins said after a 23-20 loss to the Chargers. “Those guys know me. They came up to tell me, they were like, ‘We wanted to stop you.’ That’s what happened in the first half.”
Indeed it did. Dobbins, who had talked before the game about wanting to rush for 100 yards against his former team, had four carries for minus-4 yards. But in the second half he said “we figured it out.”
Yes, Dobbins and the Broncos did. He carried seven times for 87 yards and finished with 83 for the game.
Dobbins had all the yards on Denver’s three-play, 66-yard drive to open the second half. He had runs of 41, 6 and then 19 yards for a touchdown to give the Broncos a 14-10 lead.
“Just make a play,” Dobbins said about the drive. “That’s what the key is. I got to make a play, and I’m going to make a play for my guys.”
Dobbins didn’t start Sunday’s game, with the Broncos going with rookie RJ Harvey, who had a reception for 3 yards and a run for 4 yards on their first two offensive plays. However, Harvey got few chances the rest of the game and finished with three catches for 14 yards and two carries for 2 yards.
Nevertheless, it was encouraging for the Broncos that Dobbins, despite his shaky first half Sunday, has increased his rushing output in each of the first three games. He had 63 yards in a 20-12 win over Tennessee in the opener and 76 in a 29-28 loss at Indianapolis in Week 2.
“It was good,’’ quarterback Bo Nix said of the run game Sunday. “It was really important. I think when we ran the ball on drives, we scored. That seems to be a common theme.”
Nix helped in the run game, carrying eight times for 33 yards as Denver had 118 yards on the ground. However, Nix completed a pedestrian 14 of 25 passes for 153 yards with a touchdown and the Broncos often were bogged down by penalties.
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) throws a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Carrie Giordano)Broncos take “pressure off” Greenlaw
It’s no longer a week-to-week waiting game on Dre Greenlaw.
The Broncos on Saturday placed the linebacker on injured reserve with a quad injury. That requires him to sit out four games, meaning the soonest he can return is Oct. 19 at the New York Giants.
Greenlaw sat out spring drills with a quad injury and suffered what coach Sean Payton said was a different quad injury in a July 31 practice. The Broncos didn’t put him on injured reserve before the start of the season, believing he would play at some point in the first four games.
“We got to a point and he’s been busting his tail,’’ Payton said after Sunday’s game. “(Putting him on injured reserve) will take a little pressure off. We could have done it earlier. There was a goal date and it was either (Greenlaw playing Sunday) or (on Sept. 29 at home vs. Cincinnati). The last thing we want to do is have him come out too early and re-injure it.’’
Payton said he and general manager George Paton met with Greenlaw.
“(We) sat down with him, spent some time discussing it and now there is plenty of season left,’’ Payton said. “In hindsight, we could have (put Greenlaw on injured reserve sooner.) But, at that time, the information was ‘Hey, this is four weeks (during which he might play).’ But it’s a bit longer.”
Greenlaw had looked close to returning when he practiced on a limited basis Sept. 12, the only practice he has taken part in since the start of the regular season. However, he then had a setback and didn’t practice all of last week.
Another slow start
For the third time in Payton’s three seasons with the Broncos, they are off to a slow start.
In 2023, it was 1-5. In 2024, it was 0-2. Now they’re 1-2.
Sunday’s loss dropped the Broncos into a three-way tie in the AFC West with Kansas City and Las Vegas. Those teams are two games in the division behind the Chargers (3-0), who already have beaten all the other teams in the AFC West.
“We got to get better fast and if we do, I think this will be all right,’’ said Payton, adding it’s only “the third week of the season.”
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton answers questions after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)The Broncos have lost two straight games on field goals on the final play, the previous one being the one at Indianapolis. But several Broncos players talked about how it is far too early in the season for any sort of panic to set in.
“It’s Week 3,’’ said tackle Mike McGlinchey. “There’s so much football left to be played, and we got a great opportunity to do it in front of our home crowd on Monday Night Football (in Week 4 against the Bengals) and that’s all that the focus is.”
Briefly
The Broncos lost despite no turnovers to the Chargers’ two. Safety Brandon Jones intercepted a Justin Herbert pass in the second quarter and outside linebacker Jonah Elliss in the third quarter forced a Chargers fumble on a kickoff return by Derius Davis that was recovered by safety JL Skinner. That led to a 42-yard field goal by Wil Lutz for a 17-10 Denver lead with 12:02left in the quarter. … Denver’s Marvin Mims Jr. had punt returns of 32 and 24 yards and averaged 28.5 yards on four kickoff returns. … After missing the first two games of the season following ankle surgery in August, Broncos tight end Nate Adkins returned to action. … For the third straight game, Tyler Badie was active as Denver’s third running back while Jaleel McLaughlin was inactive. Also inactive were tight end Evan Engram, ruled out Friday with a back injury, outside linebacker Que Robinson, defensive end Sai’von Jones, tackle Frank Crum and quarterback Sam Ehlinger.
