Correll Buckhalter took the handoff from Kyle Orton, cut to his right, and as he started his dash upfield, he thought, “This is just like practice.”
In front of Buckhalter was Cleveland defensive back Brodney Pool, the only man to beat before breaking for a long run. Buckhalter cut to his left toward the center of the field, leaving Pool to chase Buckhalter the rest of the way to the end zone.
Buckhalter stiff-armed a final would-be tackler, cornerback Eric Wright, as he tumbled in for the Broncos’ final touchdown in their 27-6 win against the Browns.
“We actually worked on it Thursday, a one-on-one tackling drill,” Buckhalter said. “I saw the guy and I thought: ‘He can’t stop me. I must get in the end zone.’ “
Buckhalter was mobbed by teammates, including fellow tailback Knowshon Moreno, who came sprinting off the sideline for a celebratory midair side bump.
Buckhalter’s 45-yard touchdown run capped a breakout day for the Broncos’ tailbacks. The Broncos ran for 186 yards — including 76 for Buckhalter on nine carries and 75 yards by Moreno on 17 carries. LaMont Jordan added 19 yards, and Peyton Hillis had 2 yards and a touchdown on his only carry.
“It was a really good day for us. We were able to pass the ball and run the ball, and the offensive line did a great job of giving us time and opening up those holes,” Moreno said.
It was especially good considering the start the tailbacks had to the season the previous week at Cincinnati, when Buckhalter, Moreno, Jordan and Hillis rushed for only 72 yards, with no runs longer than 14 yards.
On Sunday, though, the Broncos gave their tailbacks more touches (34 compared to 19 last week) and did a better job of balancing the running and passing games. It started from the Broncos’ first offensive play, when Orton completed a 25-yard pass to receiver Jabar Gaffney.
“We have receivers and tight ends on this team that people have to respect, and when they’re catching the ball downfield, things will open up for us,” Buckhalter said.
But it was in the second half that the backs were most effective.
The Cleveland defense wore down after halftime for the second week in a row while the Broncos continued to rotate Buckhalter and Moreno on each series. Buckhalter and Moreno combined for 96 yards after halftime as the Broncos scored 17 unanswered points — on a third-quarter field goal and Hillis’ and Buckhalter’s fourth-quarter touchdowns.
“When they’re up, they’re going to run more,” Cleveland linebacker Kamerion Wimbley said. “We know that, and we have to do a better job of stopping it.”
Moreno appeared to have made significant improvement from his NFL debut a week ago. He admitted last week that he missed some of his reads against the Bengals, when he had only 19 yards on eight carries. He averaged 4.4 yards per rush against Cleveland.
“I think I was a little more patient this week, let the game come to me,” Moreno said.
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
