Glendale, Ariz. – This was going to be the great running back runoff.
One game, and one preseason game only. May the best man win.
The legs were limber, the tension was thick. Mike Bell, the bursting bundle of aggression, was the preseason incumbent. Tatum Bell, the gliding sprinter, was close behind. Cedric Cobbs, all muscle and shoulder pads, had made a surprising late move.
Ready, guys? Great. Now block.
What was supposed to be running back drama instead became the Jay Cutler Air Show as the Broncos rallied to beat the Arizona Cardinals, 29-23, in the final preseason game for both teams here Thursday night at brand new Cardinals Stadium.
This was yet another lesson that nobody knows what Broncos coach Mike Shanahan will do before he does it.
In the days leading up to the exhibition finale, Shanahan announced the running back competition would be re-opened against the Cardinals. The local media attacked the running back story like a straight-A student with a pocket protector would go after slide ruler.
Mike Bell had made the shocking leap from undrafted rookie to No. 1 tailback in the week prior to the preseason. Was Shanahan having second thoughts by preseason end?
As it turned out, Shanahan seemingly gave it little thought at all, at least in the first half. Instead, Shanahan appeared preoccupied with getting more passing experience to Cutler, his talented new quarterback.
With all established starters kept out of the exhibition finale, the Broncos’ three leading running backs entered halftime with a combined for 33 yards on 10 carries.
Cutler had one carry for 8 yards on a first-down quarterback scramble. He also had another 201 yards passing by completing 13 of 19 attempts. The play of the game was a perfectly thrown, 84-yard scoring strike from Cutler to a wide-open David Kircus, who appears to have completed his Cinderella comeback from Subway sandwich maker last year to No. 3 Broncos receiver heading into the regular-season opener, Sept. 10 at St. Louis.
As for the ground game, to conclude, the Broncos’ top rusher is once again nobody and everybody. It appears the Broncos will open the season with all three running backs. Ron Dayne? The veteran back entered training camp as the No. 1 tailback. He was demoted to No. 3 before the first preseason game and a turf toe injury may have cost him a chance to make the roster.
Dayne did not carry the ball Thursday.
Most likely, Mike Bell kept his job as the starting tailback. Thanks mostly to a strong first series, he had 27 yards on six carries in the first half while Tatum Bell and Cobbs reached intermission with a combined 6 yards on four carries.
In the second half, the Broncos decided to rest Cutler’s arm and give some snaps – perhaps for the last time – to No. 3 quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt. It was while Van Pelt was under center that the running back race picked up in carries, and intensity.
Tatum Bell and Cobbs rotated series behind Van Pelt through the third quarter and most of the fourth. Mike Bell, meanwhile, appeared to have received the rest of the night off – yet, another sign that the tailback depth chart is likely unchanged.
But wait. After Tatum Bell and Cobbs began running with authority, Mike Bell went in for the final series – and broke off a 38-yard run.
To repeat, the Broncos running back will be nobody and everybody. Mike Bell finished his stunning preseason with 187 yards on 35 carries, an impressive 5.3-yard-per-carry average.
Before the preseason finale expired, however, Cobbs and Tatum Bell made one last surge. After Van Pelt threw a short touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to fullback and former Colorado State teammate Cecil Sapp, Cobbs ran around left end for a game-tying, two-point conversion.
On the next series, Tatum Bell broke off two long runs, setting up a first-and-goal, then swept around left end for a game-winning, 1-yard touchdown.
By game’s end, Tatum Bell had 48 yards on nine carries; Cobbs had 34 yards on eight carries. Good numbers all.
But in the final preseason game, the Broncos’ most impressive player was no contest. Cutler.
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
