The Broncos won the first war.
But the Chiefs won a small battle that could prove important, in the weeks to come.
A few days after Denver’s landmark 22-19 win over Kansas City, the Broncos quietly maneuvered to try to sign running back Dameon Pierce, a 2022 fourth-round pick by the Houston Texans. After rushing for 939 yards as a rookie, Pierce’s production had slipped for three straight years, and Houston officially cut bait with the 25-year-old on Thursday. Pierce cleared waivers, and the Broncos put a contract in front of him, a source told The Denver Post.
Pierce signed a practice-squad deal with the Chiefs instead.
The choice could be meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but the Broncos’ interest in the 215-pound Pierce makes clear, at the very least, that Denver isn’t completely settled in life on the ground without J.K. Dobbins.
“Thought it was good,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton said of the team’s run-game, after the Kansas City win. “Good enough.”
Good enough might not be good enough during the next six weeks and likely playoff run without Dobbins, the bell-cow back who the Broncos placed on injured reserve Nov. 15 with a foot injury. The Broncos came into that Chiefs matchup ranked ninth in the NFL in rushing at 128.6 yards per game, as Payton often turned to Dobbins in the second half of games when his passing game struggled. They finished with just 21 carries for 59 yards total against Kansas City, and were largely carried by a monster effort from second-year quarterback Bo Nix.
Teams will likely scheme to take away Nix’s weapons in the passing games come January, though — from Courtland Sutton to Marvin Mims — and dare the Broncos to beat them on the ground without Dobbins. At present, there’s a minimal amount of experience and a minimal amount of demonstrated 2025 production in Denver’s backfield.
One key piece on the roster is third-year back Jaleel McLaughlin, who immediately leapt from gameday inactive into a key role as the Broncos’ No. 2 RB against the Chiefs. And one didn’t need much context to sense how much a goal-line touchdown against Kansas City meant to McLaughlin, who blew a few kisses to the crowd in Denver and roared after a ferocious backward push sent him over the plane in the third quarter.
“With Jaleel’s situation, just from the beginning of the season until now – I think he’s handled it very well,” receiver Troy Franklin said Monday. “He stayed ready. And when it came to one of our biggest games of the season so far, he showed up and he did what he needed to do for us.”
That may be just the start for McLaughlin. Third-string RB Tyler Badie’s role wasn’t going to change, cemented as head coach Sean Payton’s third-down back. Rookie RB RJ Harvey has produced in fits and starts this season. McLaughlin wound up earning six carries against Kansas City and two key goal-line reps in the third quarter, and could be in the line for plenty more in the coming weeks.
“Jaleel had a handful of good runs,” Payton said Monday. “I think with the flow of a normal game, he’s going to be important for us in this stretch.”
McLaughlin’s sheer heart, though, won’t carry the Broncos’ backfield for two months. Particularly in short-yardage situations. Denver is now absent a heavier back on the roster. Rookie Harvey is the largest option, at 5-foot-8 and 205 pounds. Badie weighs in at 197, and McLaughlin stands at all of 5-foot-7. Practice-squad stash Deuce Vaughn is 5-foot-6 and 176 pounds.
The Broncos made the decision to bring in Dobbins in the spring to have a veteran presence next to rookie Harvey. Pierce would’ve checked both boxes as a backfield addition, a Houston product in his fourth season who profiles as a more traditional power back.
There aren’t many appealing options floating around the free-agent market. Veteran Zack Moss ran for just 3.3 yards a carry last season before being benched in Cincinnati, and 30-year-old Jamaal Williams ran for 17 touchdowns in 2022 with the Lions but cratered in 2023 and 2024 with the Saints. The Broncos could look at 28-year-old Chris Evans, a former Cincinnati Bengal who they brought in for a tryout this offseason; they could also try to pry Pierce off the Chiefs’ practice squad, but that’d require offering him a spot on the active 53-man roster.
If Denver stands pat, they’ll need considerable inside-the-tackles production from rookie Harvey, who finished with just 30 yards on 11 carries Sunday. And continued change-of-pace juice from McLaughlin. And third-down consistency from Badie.
The talent is there. The margin for error is not.
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