Broncos running game heating up

ENGLEWOOD • The calendar says it is December, and the old adage says now is when NFL teams need to run the ball.

The Broncos are moving in that direction. Against Kansas City, Denver rushed 45 times for 245 yards. The Broncos have 85 rushing attempts and 53 passing attempts the last two weeks.

That wasn’t the strategy the first 10 weeks of the season, when the Broncos had 76 more passing attempts than rushes. An offense that gained at least 200 passing yards in five of the first six games of the season has 200 passing yards only once in the last four games.

The focus of the Broncos’ offense seems to be changing with the weather.

“You don’t want be throwing the ball 40, 50 times in December,” quarterback Kyle Orton said. “If we can run the ball 40 times and make plays in the passing game like we did … that’s what’s going to be the key down the stretch.”

Three of the Broncos’ last four games are outdoors and potentially in bad weather. If Denver gets a wild-card berth, two of its potential opponents (Cincinnati and New England) play outside in cold climates. This week’s game is inside at Indianapolis, but if the Broncos can have success against the Colts’ 18th-ranked rush defense and keep quarterback Peyton Manning off the field, it probably wouldn’t hurt.

“We definitely feel good,” said running back Knowshon Moreno, the team’s leading rusher with 774 yards, about the rushing offense. “The offensive line is just opening up those holes for us.”