Broncos struggle to score TDs

Associated Press

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.

The Denver Broncos boast the best running game in the NFL. The numbers are a bit deceiving, though. They pile up yards on the ground but not points.

The Broncos led the league with a 164.5-yard average and set a franchise mark with 2,632 yards rushing. Yet, they ran for just 11 touchdowns, including six by scrambling quarterback Tim Tebow and four by resurgent running back Willis McGahee.

“It’s definitely helped us get to where we are,” coach John Fox said. “At the end of the day, we have improved every week. We’re doing it against loaded boxes, which is why we need to get the other phase on our offense rolling.”

Ah yes, the passing game.

While the Broncos have run roughshod over opponents, they’re 31st in the league passing the ball, better only than Jacksonville’s abysmal attack.

“What’s missing?” McGahee mused Sunday after the Broncos gained just 60 yards passing. “We’ve got to put the ball in the air to help out the run game. We’ve got to be good on both aspects.”

That’s something the Broncos (8-8) trust they can do Sunday when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) in a first-round playoff game, the first in Denver in six seasons.

“Our goal is just to be balanced, to continually keep defenses off-balance by not knowing if it is run or pass, and be able to hit big play-actions,” Tebow said.

Tebow also said he’ll heed Broncos boss John Elway’s admonition to “pull the trigger” by throwing, even into tight spaces, rather than being tentative as he was last week against Kansas City when he still appeared rattled by a four-turnover game at Buffalo.

The Broncos’ already low-octane offense has been stuck in neutral.

They scored just 309 points this season, an average of 19.3 a game, the lowest of any of the dozen teams in the playoffs. Take out the games that Kyle Orton started before he lost his starting job and the Broncos only managed 18.5 points per game.

Their rush is the most reliable aspect of their offense, but even then it’s not always effective when it matters the most, in the red zone.

The four other seasons in which the Broncos rushed for at least 2,450 yards, they scored 20, 25, 26 and 15 touchdowns on the ground.

McGahee said better balance would help the Broncos finish off drives.

“That’s something we have to work on,” he said. “The good thing about it is we’re in it. Anything can happen. Look at Seattle a year or two ago when they got in it. They made a lot of noise. That’s what we plan on doing.”

On Sunday, McGahee ran for 145 yards but Tebow was pinned in the pocket and managed just 16 yards in the Broncos’ 7-3 loss to the Chiefs, just their third loss in 89 times they’ve held an opponent to a touchdown or less.