DENVER—Mike Shanahan had one piece of advice for Tatum Bell, who was forced into the lead role in the Denver Broncos’ battered backfield a month after he was hawking cell phones at a local mall.
“I said, ‘Tatum, you can’t go down or that’s it,'” Denver’s coach recounted after Bell helped secure the Broncos’ 24-17 win over Kansas City on Sunday.
When rookie Peyton Hillis went out with a strained right hamstring in the first half and Bell went in, rookie fullback/linebacker Spencer Larsen, battling through a strained groin himself, was next in line.
“I was just praying Tatum stayed healthy,” Larsen said.
He also spent some time poring over the playbook.
At halftime, Larsen huddled with running back Selvin Young, who’s been out for two months with a torn groin, to go over protections for quarterback Jay Cutler.
The Broncos (8-5), who have grown accustomed to plugging in tailbacks this season with Michael Pittman, Andre Hall, Ryan Torain and Anthony Alridge all on IR and Young sidelined for two months.
“You can’t say, ‘Why us?’ No one’s to blame, it’s just kind of the luck of the draw,” Larsen said. “And I think it just shows the character and resilience of the team, just plugging a new guy in and not making excuses.”
Bell was out of football and selling cell phones and wireless plans after his release by Detroit earlier this year when the Broncos came calling.
The Broncos’ troubles at running back presented an opportunity for Bell, who played three seasons for Denver and gained 1,025 yards rushing in 2006, to re-establish himself as an NFL back.
Bell has at least one supporter in receiver Brandon Marshall, who caught two touchdown passes Sunday.
“We’ve got T-Speed back there,” Marshall said. “Hillis has been doing a great job, and that’s the only thing keeping Tatum on the sideline. He’s a premier back in this league, and I’m excited to see what he’s going to do.”
Bell came in and helped the Broncos (8-5) snap a three-game losing skid at home by rumbling for 52 yards on 11 carries, including a crucial 28-yard run on Denver’s game-winning, 95-yard touchdown drive.
After Marshall’s second TD catch broke a 17-17 tie and gave Denver its first lead at home in 13 quarters, cornerback Dre’ Bly stuffed Kansas City quarterback Tyler Thigpen a yard shy of the end zone on fourth-and-goal to seal the Broncos’ first win at home since Oct. 5 and atone for their lopsided loss to the Chiefs (2-11) in September.
The Broncos lead second-place San Diego by three games in the middling AFC West in their quest to return to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.
Hillis rejuvenated the Broncos’ battered backfield after moving over from fullback last month, and his 18-yard touchdown run, his fifth in four games, jump-started the Broncos’ comeback from an early 10-0 deficit.
He went to the sideline, however, after he was sandwiched by two defenders while coming down with a leaping first-down catch in the second quarter.
Hillis, who rushed eight times for 58 yards and caught one pass for 11 yards, said it might not be serious. Shanahan wasn’t nearly as optimistic, fearing he might be without Hillis for the rest of the regular season.
Cutler completed 32 of 40 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns, including a 6-yarder to Marshall for the winner early in the fourth quarter when the big receiver caught a bubble screen at the line of scrimmage and plowed his way through linebacker Rocky Boiman at the 2.
Thigpen promptly drove the Chiefs all the way to the Broncos 5, where his draw on fourth-and-goal was snuffed out by cornerback Dre’ Bly at the 1.
Thigpen said the play was designed to go to tight end Tony Gonzalez, who had five catches for 73 yards.
“Tony was getting mauled and I just decided to take off,” Thigpen said. “It was me one-on-one and I came up a yard short.”
Notes:@ The Broncos held RB Larry Johnson to 36 yards on 11 carries after he burned them for 198 yards in the first meeting. … Denver also lost WR Brandon Stokley (ankle) and LB Mario Haggan (knee) and Kansas City lost C Rudy Niswanger (knee).
