(Photo Credit: Bleacher Report)
It was a happy homecoming for Knowshon Moreno. It has been a rough go for the Broncos running back. He hasn’t been the impact running back the Broncos hoped he would be when he was one of ex-coach Josh McDaniels’ draft picks. But Knowshon is coming around.
New Jersey’s native son rushed for two touchdowns and 93 yards on 13 carries in the Broncos’ 41-23 blowout victory over the Giants yesterday at MetLife Stadium. For good measure, he helped Julius Thomas rack up yards by blocking Terrell Thomas in the first quarter. He did this in front of his grandmother, friends and former high school coaches who attended the game.
For Moreno, it wasn’t just performing in front of his loved ones and contemporaries. It was about him showing the Broncos that he is capable of being the go-to guy in running the football.
It has been a rough go for the Broncos running back. He hasn’t been the impact running back the Broncos hoped he would be when he was one of ex-coach Josh McDaniels’ draft picks. He has been hurt often. He was inactive for eight straight games last season, and he was assigned to the scout team after fumbling the ball in Week 2 last season.
Moreno has been so bad the Broncos gave Monte Ball and Ronnie Hillman an opportunity to start over him. They were clearly looking for an upgrade, but Ball and Hillman haven’t made an impression at all.
Ball has no touchdowns, and he ran for 40 yards on 20 carries in the two games he played. Hillman ran for a measly 18 yards in the two games he played, and he has no touchdowns to show for it. For all intents and purposes, Moreno is going to be the starter.
Despite him being a starter, the Broncos don’t want him to do much other than block and kill the clock.
Moreno showed he can do more than that when he scored on a 25-yard touchdown run to give the Broncos a 24-16 lead in the third quarter. That turned out to be the play of the game for two reasons. For one thing, the Broncos were holding on to a slim lead by leading 17-16. Second of all, the Broncos took control of the game after that touchdown run.
There was no question it was a momentum changer. The Giants had to worry about stopping him after spending most of their time shutting down the Broncos’ wide receivers. When he started to get into the groove, it opened up the passing game.
The Broncos can talk about all they want about how their passing game is their foundation to their offense, but they need their running backs to be a factor if they want to win postseason games. There are going to be times when the wide receivers have a hard time catching the ball, especially in the cold weather in January. That’s where the running game makes it easy for the wide receivers.
Moreno is capable of performing well. He did that in college, and he showed spurts in Josh McDaniels’ first year as Broncos head coach. He has to be consistent.
Maybe this is a start of something for Moreno. He can only hope at this point.
The Broncos are going to need him whether they want to admit it or not. It’s on Moreno to show them he can be the guy. It will be interesting how he does Monday night against the Raiders at home. That will be the key to see if the Broncos can truly depend on him. He can’t have one good performance and be a non-factor the next few weeks.
What Moreno needs is more touches. He has to put himself in a position to be open, and he has to find holes to run. That can be hard when the Broncos predicated their offense by utilizing their passing game. There is no room for error, but that’s where the Broncos running back must be ready when it’s time to run the football.
Moreno has played for the Broncos for four years, and he could be gone if the Broncos don’t exercise their option after the season is over. The team is not going to pay him $5 million when they can find other running backs to be productive. That’s why this year is a big season. He is playing for his next job, and he wants to show other teams he can be effective.
There’s a possibility he can still stay in Denver if he has a good year this season. All he has to do is provide more moments like yesterday.
The Broncos are going to need him if they want to win a Super Bowl. He can’t be ineffective like he was in the postseason last year. That’s why he needed this game, and that’s why the Broncos hope he would come through, so that they can settle on a primary running back. It can set up a nice run for him.
It all comes down to him finding consistency and creating moments like yesterday.
It’s something he aims to do every game.
Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
