Not as good as J.K. Dobbins. But a good run nonetheless.

But the time has come to call Merriam-Webster and retire the word from the dictionary because clearly it is misunderstood.

When Dobbins re-signed with the Broncos earlier this month, he popped off on social media when someone questioned paying him for “seven games a season.”

“Go be a fan of a different team; lame (bleep) dude,” Dobbins tweeted. “And don’t try to turn around when I shut down the fluke injury (bleep) up this year.”

The reality is that it would be a fluke if Dobbins stayed healthy.

He has never played a full season in the NFL. He has started 30 of 64 games because of knee, Achilles and foot injuries. He missed the Broncos’ final nine games last season after a hip-drop tackle hurt his foot.

Here’s the thing. I have not interacted with a single person on social media, email or in the community who doesn’t love Dobbins. Or what he did last season. He ranked fifth in the league in rushing when he was sidelined. He emerged as a force in the second halves of games and against stacked boxes.

Dobbins averaged almost a full yard over expected on his carries, and was beloved in the building for his leadership and passion.

So, it was no surprise the Broncos ran it back at running back, especially after they balked at Travis Etienne Jr.’s asking price and became a stalking horse in negotiations given his desire to return home to Louisiana.

Appearing recently on NFL Network, Dobbins remained delusional about his medical files. His optimism is ideal for the Broncos.

But if the team does not add a running back in the draft it will be a mistake.

First, hear Dobbins out.

“We’ve got a great O-line, we’ve got everything. We’ve got an embarrassment of riches on this team of talent,” said Dobbins, who received $8 million guaranteed in his new contract. “I’m excited. I really am, because, call it what it is, I got hurt, I missed the last, what, seven games in the regular season. I’m fresh. I’m gonna be fresh and I’m gonna be pissed off because I’m tired of the unfortunate stuff. I know that I can do it. It’s gonna happen this year. It’s gonna be great.”

Dobbins should believe he will become a stranger to the trainer’s room. That it is his turn for good luck. He deserves it.

The Broncos, though, cannot use hope as a strategy. That is what happened in the AFC Championship Game. Remember how that turned out?

The Broncos were awful on the ground. While R.J. Harvey’s slump continued, the offensive line was not blameless, picking the wrong time to play its worst game.

Denver cannot hinge its offensive balance and performance on Dobbins’ health. It is not fair to the team or Dobbins.

The Broncos have to draft a running back. Filling out the offseason roster with Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie is fine. But if both make the team, then something has gone horribly wrong.

Dobbins, a fighter who has overcome injuries that would have ended careers, will open the season as the starter. The Broncos need a closer, and not an in-case-of-emergency-break-glass option.

There is a possibility Harvey, who became a weapon in the passing game, shows up in training camp and is more aggressive between the tackles. But he has to prove it.

Dobbins turns 28 in December. Even if the Broncos trust Dobbins to become durable, picking his successor is logical.

We all know what needs to be done. Couple “El Toro” with Geico.

There is a realistic possibility that Notre Dame’s Jadarian Price and Arkansas’ Mike Washington Jr. will be available when Denver selects at No. 62.

If Price is on the board, the Broncos should not pass on him. They like him, Price believes, based on his impressive interview at the NFL Combine.

Jeremiyah Love might be the best player in the draft. He split time with Price. That should tell you all you need to know.

Former Broncos tackle Ryan Harris, who serves as an analyst for Irish games, calls Price a “minotaur, an absolute horse who is going to have a great career.”

Based on college tape and combine performances, Price projects as a plus-NFL starter with a higher ceiling than Harvey. He brings size, and is capable of getting dirty work yards, while remaining elusive in space.

Does he project as a three-down starter? Not yet.

As a rookie, he would not need to fill that role. Harvey can play on passing downs. Price could provide a way to keep Dobbins available, and also brings special teams value in the return game, which will be needed if McLaughlin or Badie don’t make the final cut.

Washington works, too. He has the speed to turn any carry into a gash play, and at 223 pounds, he is bigger than any back on the roster. But will he go north-and-south with conviction?

This question hangs over Washington and Harvey. And it is also the reason Sean Payton cut Audric Estime last summer, failing to convince him to run over defenders instead of around them.

The truth of this season lies not in the defense, Jaylen Waddle’s fit, a grizzly bear schedule or Bo Nix’s ankle. It is in the backfield.

The only thing standing between the Broncos and a Super Bowl run is the ability to consistently run.

Dobbins can do it. He has shown it. Trusting him for 17 games, however, is too dangerous. His misfortune derailed last season. And there was nothing fluky about it.

The Broncos need Dobbins. But not as much as they need insurance.

You are welcome, Broncos. This is your free agent wish list. Your offseason orange and blueprint.

Enough with starter by committee.

Enough with sacrificing games to develop a prospect.

Enough with a screen game that should be a drinking scream game.

Enough with under 4 yards per carry.

The Broncos have sprung to life over the past three years under coach Sean Payton. But when it comes to their offense, enough is enough. Payton surrendered play-calling to Davis Webb — it is in name only until evidence arrives in games — but that cannot suffice.

For the Broncos to reach the Super Bowl and win it — the last two steps on this remarkable climb back to relevancy — they have to go for it. Sign free agent running back Travis Etienne Jr.

Take cues from the Avs. No team understands the urgency of operating in a championship window like the local hockey club. The Nazem Kadri trade is a sensational move by an organization that cares about one thing — winning a championship.

Payton deserves praise for his work. As does general manager George Paton for creating a sturdy foundation through the draft.

But there is no longer room for patience. Be proactive, not reactive.

The NFL roster narrative is simple to follow. Construction hinges on having a franchise quarterback, as the Broncos have in Bo Nix.

And when you have one on a rookie contract, it provides an opportunity to take big swings at other positions. The Broncos are good at the most important: edge rusher, cornerback and left tackle.

They are not paying big money to a receiver or a tight end. And this is not the March to max out the credit card on those positions when reinforcements can be added in the draft.

That is not the case at running back. Once Jeremiyah Love comes off the board — possibly in the top five — the infatuation ends.

So pick up the phone and go big.

Etienne checks the boxes. He is dynamic. He is fast, capable of accelerating through the hole and shifting into third gear in the open field. He has soft hands and is better in space than an astronaut.

In many ways, he is a more available version of J.K. Dobbins. Dobbins was a terrific fit, but he played in only 10 games, unable to run away from his injury history.

Etienne, 27, has missed six games in four seasons. Durability is a skill. He has it. And he has also improved as a pass protector, meaning there should be no concern about leaving him in the game on third down.

It is a must to have a player like this. An obvious starter. And upgrade. R.J. Harvey boasts Joker traits in the passing game. He will not be forgotten. But context matters. The Broncos possess a championship-caliber defense. They are close.

This is not the platform to let a second-year player figure it out as he goes.

Enough.

The Broncos must address this position in a meaningful way. It feels like ¶¶Òõapountry would rather step in front of a moving bus than add someone like Rico Dowdle or Kenneth Gainwell.

Kenneth Walker III? Sure. He is coming off the best game of his career. In the biggest game of his life. That requires paying showroom floor prices.

It is not my money, so the $14.6 million annually he will command — using Breece Hall’s franchise tag as the floor — does not bother me.

The issue? It does not make as much sense since Walker is not an every-down back. Even after Zach Charbonnet tore up his knee, Walker still yielded snaps to the backup.

Let the Chiefs set the market. It is clear they will add a runner to take the pressure off Patrick Mahomes as he recovers from knee surgery.

His patience as a runner is the most appealing characteristic, a style that could finally marry the solid blocking metrics with results.

It has been an uncomfortable question after the past two seasons. The Broncos’ offensive line ranks near the top of the pack, and somehow the run game remains mediocre or, as in the case of a huge fourth down in the AFC Championship, unreliable.

Payton and Paton have earned the benefit of the doubt in the way they have built this team. But goodwill will get siphoned without a big splash.

The external and internal expectations should intersect this week.

Last year was different. Objectively, the Broncos were a year ahead of schedule. So they can be forgiven for trying to get by without explosive weapons. Their one stab at it did not work as Evan Engram morphed into a platoon player.

The Broncos cannot afford to try to live on that margin again. The Rams are going for it, acquiring star cornerback Trent McDuffie. The Bills are making a strong push, acquiring receiver D.J. Moore. The Ravens are shipping off two first-round picks for edge rusher Maxx Crosby. And the Seahawks, even if Walker signs somewhere else, are not going anywhere.

This is the type of approach required in Denver. It is easy to argue that this is the most important offseason since the Broncos added DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward and Emmanuel Sanders in 2014. That was back when John Elway was acting like George Steinbrenner.

This time around, the Broncos are only a fraction of that daring. A dash of that bold.

The Broncos have a problem. Their offense is not good enough for a championship. So, fix it.

Go to the ATM and sign Etienne.

It will be money well spent.

Sean Keeler: For me, Breece Hall was “it,” but the Jets said at the combine that he’ll get tagged. We know what Harvey can do in space as a receiver, or outside the hash marks, so you’d prefer somebody who can do well what the former UCF star doesn’t. Right now, that’s running against a stacked box and grinding between the tackles. averaging 4.94 yards per tote when everybody knew what was coming. That’s a good hammer to have, especially when Harvey averaged 3.17 against crowded boxes. The obvious answer would be to back a Walton-Penner Brink’s truck into Kenneth Walker III’s driveway. But the trick with tailbacks is getting value on the dollar — and ex-Carolina back Rico Dowdle (4.34 yards per carry vs. stacked boxes) might give you Walker-esque power without a Super Bowl MVP’s price tag.

Renck: Don’t overthink it. The answer is clobbering the Broncos over the head, like, say, the Jacksonville Jaguars did last winter. Etienne boasts 206 yards on 40 carries in two games against Denver. He was the best player on the field in London in 2022, part of a career that includes three seasons eclipsing 1,000 yards rushing and 1,400 in all-purpose yards. And don’t give me the lacking pass protection nonsense. He ranked sixth in blocking efficiency in 2025. His versatility and durability — he has missed six games in four years; Dobbins missed nine last season — make him a fit.

Keeler: Etienne didn’t allow a sack as a pass protector last year. When you don’t want personnel to give away your intent before the snap, a 1,000-yard rusher who can block like a third-down specialist is a ridiculous weapon in a pinch. Here’s the problem: Would the Broncos be willing to get into a bidding war for Etienne’s services? Our old friend Javonte Williams just landed a three-year, $24-million extension from Dallas, for an AAV of $8 million per season. Over the last two years, Etienne has a higher percentage of offensive snaps than Williams (54%), a higher rush-yards-per-game average (52) and a higher rate of rush touchdowns per game (0.28). Do you see the law firm of Payton & Paton forking over $8.5-9 million per year of cap space for a 1A/1B/timeshare back? Because I don’t.

Renck: Sign Breece Hall.That’s where all my emails go. One problem: there will be no Hall pass out of New York. He has an interest in Denver because of his connections to the coaching staff. But all indications are that the Jets will franchise tag Hall. That means he is not an option. And Walker, frankly, is not a three-down back, making his price prohibitive. That leaves Etienne, Tyler Allgeier and Rico Dowdle, another capable pass protector. The Super Bowl window demands a shrewd decision at this position. Give me Etienne, and if not him, Dowdle. And for good measure, draft Indiana’s Roman Hemby in the mid rounds.

Keeler: No love for Kenneth Gainwell, who averaged a Dobbins-esque 4.91 yards per carry against a stacked box for the Steelers last season, and 3.51 per tote vs. stacked boxes with Philly in 2023? I’d take Walker if price were no object, and Etienne works for largely the same reasons. We’re both in the Dowdle camp as a mid-priced option. And I’m absolutely with you when it comes to tossing a rookie in the mix, too. If Nebraska’s Emmett Johnson or Washington’s Jonah Coleman are somehow still on the board early in Day 3, you’d be nuts not to give them at least a sniff.

And because of these two decisions, the Broncos are not playing in the one game that defines a season.

Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX.

It should have been Denver. The Broncos are better than the Patriots, but it makes no sense to play the victim, to campaign for president of the “what if Bo Nix…” fan club. He broke his ankle. And the Patriots broke the Broncos’ hearts.

It is water under the bridge. The shark has jumped. The Patriots won and moved on.

But what will unfold on Sunday will really make you Sea Sick.

Watching the Seahawks clobber the Patriots should let ¶¶Òõapountry know what Denver needs and guide the Broncos’ offseason plans. Seattle is not just better than Denver — I would have predicted them to rout the Broncos without Nix — but faster. More aggressive. More balanced. And opportunistic (25 takeaways).

The gap is not daunting, but it exists, and will become obvious when Seattle receives soothing balm on its beak for not giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch at the goal line in Super Bowl XLIX 11 years ago.

The Broncos cannot run from the truth. Their offense is not good enough to win a Super Bowl. Even if Davis Webb calls plays — and with ESPN’s Adam Schefter saying the 31-year-old’s new salary exceeds $3 million, he should.

Denver needs diversity in its portfolio. Payton does not regret going for it on fourth-and-1 in the second quarter of the AFC Championship Game, eschewing a chip shot field goal. But he laments the play call — a sprint out pass by Stidham with only one viable target.

How did he land there? It was clear he did not trust the run game. Easy to understand. The Broncos didn’t have one.

Through 10 games, J.K. Dobbins averaged 5 yards per carry and ranked third in rushing with 772 yards. In the nine games without him, rookie starter R.J. Harvey averaged 3.3 yards per pop and rushed for 383 yards.

Does that sound at all like Seattle’s Kenneth Walker III? (Or, whispers, Patriots rookie TreVeyon Henderson, the player the Broncos should have drafted?).

Walker eclipsed 1,000 yards this season. He was Dobbins, but healthier. And he has gained more traction in the postseason, collecting 178 yards.

Walker is a bull at the point of attack and takes pressure off quarterback Sam Darnold. It’s not like the Seahawks are making anyone forget “The Greatest Show on Turf.” But their top receiver, NFL Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, is several rungs on the ladder above Courtland Sutton. And Walker is an upgrade over any Broncos runner.

The Broncos need more juice.

Why? There is zero chance they go 12-3 in one-score games again next season. Miracle comebacks, like those against the Eagles and Giants, have expiration dates.

A boost can come from a receiver. A trade makes more sense than overpaying on the free agent market.

How about signing an explosive runner? Now, we are talking.

It could be Breece Hall, Travis Etienne Jr. or even Walker. But before making any decision, the Broncos need to figure out their identity in the run game. Are they going to use the wide zone? A power attack?

The offensive line continues to receive high grades on the ground, but it does not translate into the stats. It is time to figure out where the disconnect lies: in the scheme or the runners?

For Nix to reach his ceiling, he needs help around him. The window to win a title is open, but it will quickly close on fingers once Nix is no longer on his rookie contract.

But the addition of playmakers should not be reserved for the offense. Again, watch Seattle. The Broncos need their version of inside linebacker Ernest Jones IV. He impacts the game everywhere on the field.

Forget the 126 tackles. The Broncos have backers who tackle. It is the five interceptions. That is as many as the Broncos’ starting secondary — Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss, Ja’Quan McMillian, Brandon Jones, Talanoa Hufanga — combined for last season.

Of the current three inside linebackers — Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad, Dre Greenlaw — the Broncos must keep one, then head to the ATM and pursue Jacksonville free agent Devin Lloyd. He collected five picks last season as he earned All-Pro honors.

Spotrac projects a three-year, $60.4 million contract.

The draft is bursting with linebackers, but again, the championship window, remember? Urgency matters. The Broncos have not had a sideline-to-sideline backer since Danny Trevathan. Lloyd could finally solve that problem.

The Broncos had more humps than a pack of camels when Payton took over in 2023. They have gotten over all of them, save for one.

The franchise is now in Super Bo or bust mode.

The Broncos should be proud. ¶¶Òõapountry should puff out its chest. But it cannot say the Broncos are better than the Seahawks.

Not yet.

They must follow Seattle’s lead and find their sea legs with a dynamic running back and linebacker.

Sean Keeler: If I can only take one, give me Dobbins — only minus the hometown discount and with a boatload of health-related/games-played-related incentives thrown in. If I can take two, give me Dobbins and Dre Greenlaw, as the latter can get downhill to stop the run and defend the short-passing game, whereas Alex Singleton sort of does one well (the run) and Justin Strnad excels at the other (pass defense). If I can go off the list, give that money to nickel back Ja’Quan McMillian. Sorry, Jahdae Barron, but where would Vance Joseph’s D be without The Mighty Mac? With a $1.03 million cap hit, McMillian (four sacks, two interceptions, two fumbles forced, nine pass break-ups) was one of the best bargains in the NFL last fall. And as Ja’Quan’s also slated to be a restricted free agent, he won’t be the same bargain anymore.

Renck: Don’t be bull-headed. The answer is simple: “El Toro,” also known as the bilingual Dobbins. In any language, he is an effective runner, and the price will be right at roughly $2.5 million on a one-year deal. Of course, Dobbins will want a multi-season contract, but the Broncos can wait him out. The key is pairing Dobbins. Perhaps, R.J. Harvey takes the next step with a more focused running game — Denver never fully committed to the wide zone attack last season. But adding a veteran and a drafted back to replace Tyler Badie and Jaleel McLaughlin could also make Dobbins a healthy contributor for a full season.

Keeler: Only you know, and I know, that trusting Dobbins’ body to hold up for 17-19 games is a load of bull-oney. Harvey proved himself as a fun at-the-hashmarks weapon in the passing game (drops notwithstanding), especially in the red zone. RJ finishes runs strong. He just sometimes has trouble starting them, especially between the tackles. Harvey looks like a situational or  “conditional” back — someone who needs a big, bruising, north-south guy as a partner/caddy. Dobbins was every bit that guy, minus the “big” part — until he got hurt. Because he always gets hurt. So he’s “conditional,” too, in that Dobbins needs a partner back to finish the season out for him. That’s way too many “conditionals” in one backfield, my friend.

Renck: Billed as a Joker to create passing game mismatches, Engram fell out of favor because of his blocking skills, losing the starting job to Adam Trautman in training camp. If Engram was not the primary receiver on a play, he did not get the ball. Even with Davis Webb becoming the offensive coordinator, it is difficult to see Engram blossoming. The Broncos would save $3.8 million if they cut him, but absorb a $10.33 million dead cap hit, per Spotrac. It is worth it if they only plan on employing him as a platoon player. Moving on from Greenlaw brings $4.3 million in dead cap money. Greenlaw’s body betrayed him with quad and hamstring injuries. He wasn’t as effective in coverage as hoped, and his postseason presser cast doubt about whether he wants to return to play for Sean Payton, whose practice schedule, as noted by the linebacker, is a lot more strenuous than Kyle Shanahan’s. If bringing back one of the three, make mine Dobbins.

Keeler: Last Monday’s exit interviews at Dove Valley were telling. Engram and Greenlaw said some of the quiet parts out loud regarding the methods to Payton’s madness. Dobbins, by contrast, sounded positively giddy about getting back onto the field in Broncos orange. Greenlaw’s contract for 2026 So if you were looking to cut him, this might be the best window.

He had suffered brutal playoff losses before — the Minnesota Miracle, the Ref Rob Job — but those outcomes flipped because of elements out of his control. The Broncos began their offseason Monday because of his decision to go for it on fourth down in the second quarter of the AFC Championship Game.

Forty-eight hours later, I asked Payton about the play upon reflection.

“I don’t know which is the greater regret, the decision or certainly the play call. Back in the good ol’ days, you were able to get a measurement. I knew (Jarrett Stidham) was short and actually a little shorter than they marked it. But it also buys you time to think of the call you want. So we used the timeout,” said Payton of the fourth-and-1 at the 14-yard line with 9:28 remaining in the first half. “I think probably what irks me more is the call, more than the decision.”

This is Payton. Double down. Rock climb without a harness. Break out the driver on the dogleg.

His default setting fluctuates between confidence and arrogance. The same qualities that make him a great coach can undermine him in big moments. His belief is so strong that it clouds his vision.

It raises the question: Can everything that defines Payton prevent him from taking the checkered flag again? The answer is yes without upgraded talent on offense. And with his coaches. He fired longtime lieutenant Joe Lombardi as offensive coordinator on Tuesday. This move could mean that Davis Webb replaces him, but there are two other candidates on staff in assistant Pete Carmichael and offensive coach Zach Strief.

It does not mean Payton will relinquish play-calling.

Payton has shown vulnerability in the hours and days since the 10-7 loss to the Patriots. But your skin will have more wrinkles than a Shar Pei if you are waiting for an apology for a 15-4 season.

He is not going to say sorry for his success or the way he goes about his business. He is single-minded in his pursuit of a Lombardi Trophy. It is eerie how similar he is in this way to Mike Shanahan.

But Sunday, his laser focus required nuance. National radio host Colin Cowherd, a Payton loyalist, casually tossed out this statistic this week: teams that lead by 10 points at any time of a conference championship game boast an 89% win probability rate.

Just kick. And you kick the Patriots’ butt.

Not Payton’s style. He will always be more Tin Cup’s Kevin Costner than the PGA’s Scottie Scheffler.

He wanted the haymaker of a 14-0 lead, which makes sense if the Broncos were inside the 5-yard line. They were at the 14, meaning there was no guarantee they were scoring a touchdown even with a first down.

So, if Payton is going to live by the sword, he needs a bigger sword.

The Broncos must improve their running game. Payton admitted it will be a point of emphasis this offseason as he talks with Strief. He will always prefer operating out of the shotgun, but he wants to be able to run from under center.

Not only when he wants to, but when he has to.

Let’s be honest, short yardage situations created squirms without J.K. Dobbins. Or Bo Nix on quarterback sneaks. That’s what led to a naked bootleg for a backup quarterback with one target in the flat and fingers crossed that an obvious pick created space in the biggest play of the season.

It failed horribly.

It won’t next time if the Broncos bring back Dobbins, pairing him with RJ Harvey, and move on from Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie. And if they don’t keep Dobbins, the Broncos must draft a hammer in April. And a tight end like Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq.

Want Payton’s decisions to work out better? Get him better players.

Payton is not running a democracy. The calls are in his hands. And they are fidgety. He is not mellowing, soliciting outside opinions or easing off the throttle.

Let LeBron agonize over The Decision. That’s not Payton. The Play bothers him.

Even when understanding the thought process behind it, it was not a popular call.

A cascade of criticism has rained down on the coach. You don’t know Payton, the man who cut Russell Wilson and absorbed an $85 million cap hit like it was a practice squad transaction, if you think he cares.

“I don’t pay attention to it,” Payton said. “If I did, I don’t know that we would be in this position.”

He is right, you know.

Payton replaced Nathaniel Hazmat and became the reason the Broncos are relevant again. He turned Sesame Street into Compete Street — even putting the aforementioned words on a sign on the practice field that first season — as he cut popular veteran players and created a culture of accountability.

There is no AFC West title, the first in a decade, no No. 1 seed, without Payton setting the tone in the building.

“Really, the credit goes to Sean,” general manager George Paton said.

Paton and Payton balance each other out, sharing a thirst for roster building, the draft, and film study. Payton creates templates for positions and intangibles — competitive fire, good learners, love football — that are non-negotiable, making it easier for scouts to identify what a Bronco looks like.

There is no gray area, as those inside the locker room willingly acknowledge, with Payton. Sunday’s failure will be a small price to pay if the lessons learned lead to a Broncos’ Super Bowl title over the next three years while Nix remains on his rookie contract.

“I told our players, in this industry, you are going to get punched and have some tough losses. It happened a year-and-a-half ago in Kansas City and we responded,” Payton said. “You referenced a few games (playoff losses to the Vikings and Rams), that were holy cow! That can’t discourage you from coming back or you are never going to taste it.”

Every season, Payton becomes a needler, lobbing unexpected, sometimes unintended, shots at opponents, testing their patience, crawling their skin.

He gets into their heads.

Right now, he is living rent-free in ours. We are trying to make sense of his actions with numbers and logic.

Don’t bother.

Payton is not changing, even if his OC is. This is a good thing. But only if the players’ talent matches his confidence.

If there’s a template for Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham next week in the AFC Championship, he can follow Marvin Mims Jr.’s footsteps from Saturday. Better than the Bills’ secondary did, at any rate.

“Just (given) the moment, and with Troy (Franklin) and Pat (Bryant) being out, somebody’s just got to step up,” Mims told me at his locker Saturday, smiling after grabbing a team-high eight receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown in a wild, wacky 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills.

“Just being able to fill that role and help the team, it was huge.”

Huge. Clutch. It took a village for the Broncos to win 15 out of 18 games. Whenever someone’s fallen, somebody else picked up the rope and ran with it.

Mims’ turn came with a minute left in regulation. He shook a defender and cut into the near left corner of the end zone, got two feet in bounds, turned, slid — and accidentally collided with the camera of a sideline photographer, which dinged him squarely in the back.

“I was down, I could’ve got up,” he said. “But they told me to just stay down. They say that metal, walls, all that stuff — never fails, doesn’t budge.”

He laughed. Neither do these Broncos. Stubborn to the last.

“(It was) a play we’ve been working on,” Mims continued. “I ran it in rookie camp. We actually watched the film (earlier this week) of me running in rookie camp, and Coach (Sean) Payton loved the play, and he called it (Saturday) … not the look we wanted, but Bo put the ball perfectly outside, and I was able to make a play on it.”

That put the Broncos up 29-27 pending the extra point. Mims ran a similar route to draw a flag on the second-to-last play of overtime. In doing so, it drew a pass-interference call on Buffalo cornerback Tre’Davious White that gave the Broncos the ball at the Bills’ 8-yard line.

Nix, who’ll now be out for the rest of the season with a fractured ankle, spotted the Bills in a ‘man’ look in overtime and decided to test Buffalo’s deep coverage.

“These guys aren’t about to run a ‘man’ (coverage) on us,” Nix said in his final, game-winning huddle with the Broncos.

Bo checked off to some man-beating routes. The rest is history.

Mind you, the history of Saturday’s overtime is going to play a little differently in the annals of upstate New York than it will along the Front Range.

Especially as the Bills left the field convinced they should’ve won that game in overtime during the prior possession. Josh Allen fired deep on third-and-11 to Bills wideout Brandin Cooks, who went down in a rolling heap on the grass with Broncos nickel back Ja’Quan McMillian.

After about a second of tussling, McMillian arose with the ball in his hand, raising it to the sky like Excalibur. Officials credited McMillian with the interception. Replays appeared somewhat more … inconclusive. Yeah.

“If (Cooks) catch that ball, the game’s probably over right?” Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “Yeah, it was a magical play. There’s something special going on here right now. Take advantage of it.”

“It looked like a catch in real time,” Mims added. “Huge play for us. And Ja’Quan (was) finding ways to be clutch in huge situations.”

“That’s been this team all year long, hasn’t it?” I asked.

“For sure,” Mims nodded. “It adds up. Just finding ways to win in different, huge ways. You’ve got three receivers out. Me, LJ (Lil’Jordan Humphrey), Court (Courtland Sutton), guys staying the whole game, finding a way to win, finding a way to make plays.

“And it’s just a typical thing for us — just figuring out different ways to win. So, just going through the game (Saturday), none of us budged. We all knew. We all had each other’s backs. We all trusted each other.”

Now they’ll have to trust someone else to lead the huddle.

Nix completed his first two throws of the winning drive, including a 3-yarder to Mims at the start of the drive, before a 24-yard catch-and-run to rookie tailback R.J. Harvey gave the hosts a first down at midfield.

It would be Nix’s last drive of the season, as Payton told reporters about 90 minutes after the game that his second-year quarterback had fractured his right ankle during overtime.

“No matter the situation, (Nix) stays competitive,” Mims reflected. “I mean, for him, just him and his passing ability, his composure, his leadership, his running ability. Bo can make a play out of anything … I mean, it’s unbelievable to think about the things he’s done this year for this team. He’s a heck of a leader, and he’s been leading us all year.”

He’ll have to do it from the sideline from here on out. Mims knows that drill plenty well already.

“Pat (Bryant) goes out, I think, first drive,” the receiver recalled. “And then Troy (Franklin) goes out right before halftime, and it’s like, we don’t have any numbers.

“With me, I do running back, receiver, kickoff return, and punt return, so it’s like, how are we gonna figure this all out? (So), huge testament to the coaches and just figuring it all out and getting this going, but at the end of the day, I mean, just, I mean, just being ready for the moment.

“I did a lot of stuff I haven’t done all year. You practice it a little bit in practice, but most of the time, it’s those (other) guys getting those reps … but, you get your opportunity, you’ve got to make the most of it. As an NFL player, you can’t just pout about it all year, and then when your moment comes, you’re not ready for it, you know what I mean?”

We do. It’s Stiddy’s’moment now. A win that sends you to Santa Clara is going to take every hand in the room. And every heart.

Failing to score more than 20 points in three straight games to end the season was all America’s armchair quarterbacks and well-paid analysts needed.

The offensive impotence is catnip for critics.

So, it is no wonder that the AFC’s top dog is an underdog. Fine.

There is a way to win every game, as Sean Payton reminds us weekly, and the path Saturday involves mud flaps, not a cockpit.

The Pat Bowlen Fieldhouse has hidden its secret long enough.

Want to beat the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round? Run Jaleel McLaughlin. Trust him. Treat him like a weapon, not a diversion.

The idea that the outcome of the Broncos’ biggest game in a decade hinges on a running back who has been inactive for nine weeks is ridiculous. You are probably laughing at this premise. Cackling at the idea that Payton will actually lean on the ground attack.

But Payton has made a career of pushing the right buttons and finding answers. And this one is staring at him from inside the fieldhouse walls, where McLaughlin can often be found after practice getting in extra reps to stay sharp.

All Payton needs to do is follow the script written by Gary Kubiak, the last Broncos coach to win a playoff game.

As Denver clumsily reached the end of the 2015 season, creating doubts about reaching the Super Bowl, Kubiak spent part of his day checking video from Peyton Manning’s workouts with receiver Jordan “Sunshine” Taylor inside the fieldhouse as he recovered from a plantar fasciitis injury.

Kubiak refused to close the door on Manning returning. And Manning was tired of waiting. At one point, he flipped off the cameras, knowing Kubiak would see it. Kubiak finally took the suggestion, turning to Manning in the second half of the season finale, a move that triggered a Super Bowl 50 victory.

McLaughlin does not possess the gravitas to give his coach the middle finger. And he is not the key to a championship run. But he is the key to winning this game.

You see, backs have run through the Bills like Taco Bell after a night on Pearl Street. Only the 2006 Indianapolis Colts allowed more than 5 yards per rush and won the Super Bowl, . The Bills have yielded 5.2 in 18 games. It is their fatal flaw.

McLaughlin can expose it. His entire football journey has built up to this moment. He never had a backup plan. He slept in a car for a time growing up. He refused to give up on his dream. His resilience helped him make the roster three years ago as an undrafted free agent.

This is different. He can go from a feel-good story to the headliner.

Look, this might backfire. But he is the best option to exploit the Bills, even if injured defensive lineman Ed Oliver returns. The trade deadline long ago passed, and Denver declined to deal for Breece Hall.

Then J.K. Dobbins got hurt, and R.J. Harvey has not filled his cleats. Forget attacking downhill, Harvey has been going downhill. He has averaged 3.36 yards per carry over the past three games on 36 carries, and if you subtract his 38-yard touchdown against the Jaguars, it shrinks to 2.37.

Compare that to McLaughlin, who has 118 yards on 18 carries during the same stretch. That is 63 percent of his season total, and 6.56 a pop.

“He outworks just about everybody in the building,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “It’s not a shock to anybody that, when his opportunity came, he did a great job with it.”

So, lean on McLaughlin and call more designed runs for Bo Nix (102 rushing yards since Dec. 21).

Who says no? Payton?

Not so sure. Not this time. He appears to have learned his lesson from abandoning the run last year at Buffalo, from turtling against the Chiefs and Chargers.

It was encouraging to hear Payton’s tone publicly last Friday when asked if he held stuff back over the final two weeks. He made no excuses. Used zero qualifiers. Made it clear that the Broncos have to execute better and become more explosive.

If Payton is not stubborn, the Broncos will win because of the run game in general and McLaughlin specifically.

Don’t believe it?

The Jaguars are watching this weekend because they simply did not run the ball enough. They were gashing the Bills on the ground, and inexplicably finished with 30 passes and 23 carries. They posted 154 yards rushing, and Liam “Keep Your Head Up” Coen decided to keep putting the ball in the air.

If Payton is similarly hard-headed with Nix, the Broncos will follow the Jaguars to the emergency exit.

My insistence on running is rooted in winning.

The best way to neutralize Josh Allen is to play keep away. If the Broncos produce long drives and impose their will upfront, it will create urgency from the Bills.

We all know Josh Allen is not going to play like Woody Allen. It is safe to assume the Broncos are going to struggle at times as Allen bullies his way for yards or finds his tight ends and running backs for easy completions. How Denver’s defense performs in the red zone will be critical.

But the offense has to do its part.

It won’t be easy. It never is with this group. The Broncos have only reached the red zone five times in the last three games, scoring two touchdowns, and only once in a goal-to-go situation.

That won’t cut it on Saturday.

Let McLaughlin provide the body shots. And Harvey or Nix, the haymaker (the Bills have allowed eight touchdown runs of 30-plus yards, most in a season in NFL history).

McLaughlin was already known for rolling up his sleeves and breaking a sweat before the sun wakes. But he added night duty to stay sharp, to be ready, when he lost his role on game day as the fourth running back in the three-man rotation of Dobbins, Harvey and Tyler Badie.

“It was a real challenge just because I am so competitive,” McLaughlin said. “But I just had to trust and believe in what coach Payton was telling me.”

Everyone is running their mouths again. All the Broncos need to do is run the ball with McLaughlin to shut them up.

“I told Sean Payton I thought it was the best selection in the draft at quarterback,” the former St. Louis Rams coach and offensive coordinator told The Post. “With Sean’s great understanding of the passing game, Bo Nix went to the perfect spot.”

Two years later, Nix boasts 24 wins, and will be watching from his couch this weekend after the Broncos secured the AFC’s No. 1 seed and a bye. Still, no Denver quarterback has been more heavily scrutinized since Peyton Manning.

Nix led the NFL in passing attempts and game-winning drives. Yet every Sunday feels like a race to the keyboard or microphone to criticize the mole on Cindy Crawford’s face (guilty as charged).

Win the Super Bowl with the AFC field wide open, or this season is a failure.

Do you Bo-lieve that? I don’t.

If you were watching the Broncos the past two games, you’d be fooling yourself to place that much faith in this team to go undefeated in the postseason.

So, regarding Nix, we have been looking at this all wrong.

He is being held to the same standard as the likes of Derek Jeter. Anything less than a downtown parade is a waste? Please. That is easy to say when you play for the Yankees, who use championship banners as coasters.

These days, no one affords anyone patience. But, Nix deserves context.

The Broncos are back in the playoffs for a second straight season, one game closer to Super Bowl LX, and a legitimate contender because Nix has played with a slow heartbeat in the fourth quarter.

But how about we sip the orange Kool-Aid instead of chugging it, and consider the history Nix is chasing.

Not only has a rookie quarterback never won a Super Bowl, but a second-year starter has only pulled it off four times: Kurt Warner (1999), Tom Brady (2002), Ben Roethlisberger (2005) and Russell Wilson (2013).

That is a success rate of 6.7 % in 59 attempts.

This is not meant to provide Nix with an excuse, but an appropriate frame of reference. Those aforementioned players are either in the Hall of Fame (Warner) or will be (yes, even Wilson has a strong case).

Nix has been good. Manning told me he would be last summer, stressing “he is made of the right stuff.” But nobody is rushing to get his measurements for a gold jacket.

Nix is solid, inspiring confidence in teammates, who have watched him play his best when it matters most. Still, let’s be real about the current ask: win a Super Bowl in his second season?

Here’s the thing about Warner, Brady, Roethlisberger and Wilson: they did not have to put on a cape. They had sidekicks worthy of Marvel Comics. All four of them were paired with 1,000-yard rushers in Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk, Antowain Smith, Willie Parker and Marshawn Lynch.

These guys had nicknames like “Superman,” “Fast Willie” and “Beast Mode.” Roethlisberger had Canton-bound Jerome “The Bus” Bettis as a short-yardage back for goodness sake.

Nix has R.J. Harvey — RJ for short — and Jaleel McLaughlin who doesn’t have a nickname but is known for the team misspelling his name on the back of his jersey in the preseason.

This is where Nix misses “El Toro,” aka J.K. Dobbins. He was on pace to eclipse 1,000 yards — he finished with 772 through 10 games, still a team best — before injuring his foot.

Want to be fair to Nix: Ask more of him in the Super Bowl if Dobbins returns.

Too lenient a standard?

You do realize that only eight second-year quarterbacks have even reached the Super Bowl, and Dan Marino, Colin Kaepernick, Joe Burrow and Brock Purdy all failed. And every one of them had a 1,000-yard rusher, save for Marino, who passed for a record 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns.

This is why it is important to widen the lens on the Broncos season. It has been special; you don’t win 14 games without creating goosebumps. But these Broncos are not like those of 1997, 1998 and 2015.

They are more flawed, a year ahead of schedule. They don’t have a championship offense on paper, and the resumes of Manning and John Elway dwarf Nix’s credentials.

Which is why it is fascinating how bad games cling to Nix like Bounce sheets, especially in relation to the other quarterbacks in the field.

Josh Allen and C.J. Stroud have never won a postseason road game or reached the big game. Justin Herbert’s next playoff victory will be his first. Same goes for Sam Darnold. And Aaron Rodgers has not posted a postseason victory since 2021.

Nix has delivered some ugly quarters and halves, last week among them. It is why even some of his comebacks get dinged since he sprayed an extinguisher on fires he started.

In the end, though, he has done his part without, as Warner explained before the season, a remarkable cast.

He has played a significant role while being asked to take on as much responsibility as any sophomore quarterback in recent memory.

The Broncos are not a Super Bowl team in the traditional sense, not without more weapons offensively, and a special teams boost from Marvin Mims Jr. But they do have a defense that generates pressure and, if the Chargers’ win is any indication, remains capable of displaying sticky fingers.

And they have a quarterback they trust. ¶¶Òõapountry understands it — they lived through 13 underwhelming starters after Manning. The locker room knows it.

And Martz gets it.

“I would love to coach that kid,” said Martz, who coached Warner to a Super Bowl title in his second season. “Absolutely, love it.”

Martz was right about Nix. All Nix has done is put himself in a position to win a championship.

But let’s be realistic: it is not a failure if he doesn’t.

Parker ³Ò²¹²ú°ù¾±±ð±ô:ÌýNot if you ask head coach Sean Payton. He made it clear Monday he thinks the main area that the Broncos must improve in to win a Super Bowl title is turnover margin. No mention of the run game whatsoever. And, hey, if you take the ball away two or three times per playoff game, you’re going to have more license to play the way you want to offensively. The way the Broncos have played offensively has changed some since J.K. Dobbins’ injury, though. Their pass rate has ticked up from 57.6% pre-injury to 62.7% post-injury. More concerning, Denver’s overall averages per game and per run have dropped from 133.6 and 4.9, respectively, to 100 and 3.8. It takes more than just the running back to have a good running game, of course, and the Broncos have dealt with offensive line and tight end injuries along with Dobbins, but given the way the front has sustained in pass protection and elsewhere and the way the numbers fall on clean lines around Dobbins’, this feels more like a running back difference than anything else.

Renck: Harvey has delivered a memorable rookie season. He boasts 12 touchdowns. To put that in perspective, in the two years leading up to his 2,000-yard season, Hall of Famer Terrell Davis posted 15 apiece in 1996 and 1997. The difference? Davis was a bell cow. Harvey is more Liam Neeson, possessing a “very particular set of skills.” He does not need Siri to find the end zone. However, he is not Dobbins. Dobbins was good early, but a finisher late, averaging 5.6 yards per carry in the second half in 10 games. In the six games since Dobbins’ foot injury that might heal by the Super Bowl, Harvey has averaged 3.7 yards per attempt overall and 3.7 in the second half. For the Broncos to reach Super Bowl LX, they need Bo Nix to throw roughly 35 times per game. He might be too young, it might be too much to ask, but the Broncos require more from Harvey and the offensive line.

³Ò²¹²ú°ù¾±±ð±ô:ÌýThey need the defense to get back to its sure-tackling, red-zone-dominating ways, too, Troy. The game gets faster in the postseason. Nix and most of the Broncos got a taste of that last year in Buffalo. This defense should be ready to make that transition smoothly. They’ll be playing at home in front of a frothing crowd that hasn’t seen postseason football live in a decade. Another wrinkle I wonder about: Nix talked after the Chiefs game about recognizing at one point that he should have tucked the ball and ran. As the game went, he did that more. Payton dialed up a beauty of a designed draw for a 9-yard touchdown, Nix scrambled four times and finished with a season-high nine carries. He’s going to finish with fewer carries than last year — 92 as a rookie in the regular season vs. 75 heading into Week 18 this year, but the biggest difference is the production. He generated 41 first downs last year with his legs compared to 22 so far this season. One way to help Harvey and the run game in the postseason: Take the understandable regular-season governor off Nix and make him a featured part of the plan.

Renck: Harvey is showing more patience as he learns to go north-and-south, rather than bumping outside. He breaks tackles and is physical. One of two things need to happen moving forward. He must get more touches, meaning keeping him on the field on third down in place of the unproductive Tyler Badie. Harvey’s improvement in blitz pickup warrants additional snaps. Or Nix has to run roughly six times a game for more than 40 yards, easing the pressure on Harvey. The Chiefs game reminded us how dangerous Nix can be with his legs. Harvey has been great at the goal line, and mid everywhere else. The Broncos’ ability to make a run to the Super Bowl hinges on how well Harvey and Nix run over the next month.