Broncos Seeking To Find Rushing Attack

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (The Sports Xchange) - Trevor Siemian's right arm is now the most reliable component of the Denver Broncos' offense, and whether they make the playoffs or not might depend on whether he can translate his recent big numbers into wins.

He hasn't thrown an interception since the Broncos returned from their Week 11 bye, and has back-to-back 300-yard games in his two starts that bracketed a game he missed because of a sprained left foot. But despite the big numbers, the Broncos still lost, in large part because of an offense that took too long to awaken, that didn't find the end zone until the second half of the loss to the Chiefs and the fourth quarter of last Sunday's defeat at Tennessee.

They haven't won because they have become one-dimensional -- not by choice, but by ineffectiveness. Since running back C.J. Anderson suffered a torn meniscus in Week 7, the Broncos are dead last in average per carry, and are the only team to average fewer than three yards per attempt in the last seven weeks.

If they only had to pass the ball, they would be fine. Siemian's command at the line of scrimmage has improved, and his ball placement to Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders has become more precise, as he does a better job leading them and placing the football at their outside shoulders.

In Siemian's last two starts, their two high-priced receivers have flourished. But that isn't going to be enough; the Broncos have to at least have a running game that is a viable threat for which the defense must account.

"As a quarterback, I think you want to throw it 100 times a game, but we need to be able to do both," Siemian said. "You have to have balance, especially down the stretch.

"When you're playing these kinds of teams, you have to be able to do both."

By "these kinds of teams," Siemian is, of course, referring to the Patriots, Chiefs and Raiders, a 31-8 gauntlet through which the Broncos must navigate to try and extend their run of consecutive playoff appearances to six seasons. The Broncos' 2-4 record against teams that are currently above .500 does not offer cause for optimism -- and if they can't run the football, they will continue to have the same types of issues they've had against teams like the Falcons, Raiders, Chiefs and Titans.

"Selfishly it would be easy to say, 'Yeah, I want to rip it,' but you have to be able to do both (run and pass)," Siemian said. "I think that we're going to get there."

They're running out of time to make it.