Fruitful stretch run for Broncos relies on running game, defense and creating turnovers

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — One big takeaway from the Denver Broncos at the midpoint of the season is they don't have enough of them.

The Broncos (5-4) are minus-1 in turnovers with a dozen takeaways and 13 giveaways.

Flipping that, along with revving up the ground game again and stuffing the run are the primary ingredients for Denver to have a successful season, one that ostensibly would include a winning record for the first time since 2016 and maybe even a playoff berth for the first time since 2015.

Before their lopsided loss at Baltimore on Sunday, the Broncos had been effective at running the ball and efficient at stopping the run.

Getting back to that “is going to be vital to this team winning,” coach Sean Payton said Monday.

“We're minus-1 right now in the turnover battle. If we're having that discussion toward the end of the season, it's not going to be good,” Payton said. “So, that has to be something in our favor."

Payton said the Broncos aren't at the point where they can survive being even or have a negative in the giveaway/takeaway category.

They also have to stuff the run as they were before Derrick Henry gashed them for 106 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 4.6 yards per carry Sunday.

“If we're having trouble defending the run or we're having problems and not having the ability to boil the game down, play it on our terms, I think it's going to be challenging for us to accomplish our goals,” Payton said.

The Broncos' ground game ground to a halt against the Ravens with Javonte Williams gaining 42 yards on a dozen carries and Jaleel McLaughlin managing just 10 yards on five carries before rookie Audric Estime ran five times for 35 yards late in the blowout.

So, is there a chance Estime, who fumbled twice earlier this season, will get more opportunities down the stretch?

“I think that's a good and fair question," Payton said, “and one that I think I would answer yes.”

The trick plays. WR Courtland Sutton threw a pass for the second straight game and this one resulted in a touchdown to QB Bo Nix on a “Philly special.” Last week, the Panthers took umbrage at the Broncos pulling some trickery with a big late lead. This one came on fourth-and-goal from the 2 and pulled Denver to 10-7 midway through the second quarter.

Running the ball and stopping the run.

QB Bo Nix. He already had the most victories for a rookie quarterback in franchise history, besting the four John Elway had in 1983 and Drew Lock matched in 2019. Payton acknowledges that for all the studying he and his staff did on Nix before the draft, the rookie's speed has been an eye-opener. Nix has rushed for nearly 300 yards to go with his 1,753 yards passing.

Tight end Greg Dulcich, who was expected to be the one to open up the middle of the field for Denver this season, has been a healthy scratch for five straight weeks after catching just five of 12 passes thrown his way during the first month of the season. Payton says Dulcich has a good attitude and is working hard to regain his playing time on Sundays but that other tight ends are just better right now.

S P.J. Locke (thumb) has missed the past two games. S Delarrin Turner-Yell is eligible to return from a knee injury.

6 — consecutive games with a sack for Nik Bonitto between Weeks 3-8, the best streak by a Denver defender since Von Miller in 2018.

5 — wins for Nix, the most ever by a Broncos rookie QB.

3 — Denver wide receivers who have thrown a touchdown pass now that Sutton did it Sunday. The others are Emmanuel Sanders in 2018 and Arthur Marshall (twice, last one in 1993).

Continuing a crucial stretch, the Broncos visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday before hosting the Atlanta Falcons.

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Baltimore Ravens running back Justice Hill (43) is stopped by Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) and safety Devon Key (26) after a short gain in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II (2) celebrates his interception during the second half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton (14) misses a pass in the end zone as Baltimore Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet (10) covers late in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, front, eludes a tackle by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy, back, in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama, kicked off his campaign for governor Friday, saying voters deserve a choice and a leader who will put aside divisions to address the state's pressing needs.

“With your help we can finish what we began. We can build the Alabama we’ve always deserved,” Jones told a packed crowd at a Birmingham campaign rally featuring musician Jason Isbell.

He said the state has urgent economic, health care and educational issues that are not being addressed by those in public office.

The campaign kickoff came on the eighth anniversary of Jones' stunning 2017 win over Republican Roy Moore, and Jones said Alabama proved back then that it can defy “simplified labels of red and blue.”

“You stood up and you said something simple but powerful. We can do better,” Jones said. “You said with your votes that our values, Alabama values, are more important than any political party, any personality, any prepackaged ideology.”

His entry into the race sets up a possible rematch with Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who defeated Jones by 20 points in 2020 and is also now running for governor. Both will have party primaries in May before the November election.

Before running for office, Jones, a lawyer and former U.S. attorney, was best known for prosecuting two Ku Klux Klansmen responsible for Birmingham’s infamous 1963 church bombing.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Jones said families are having a hard time with things like health care, energy bills and simply making ends meet.

“People are struggling,” he said. “They are hurting.”

Jones used part of his speech to describe his agenda if elected governor. He said it is time for Alabama to join most states in establishing a state lottery and expanding Medicaid. Expanding Medicaid, he said, will protect rural hospitals from closure and provide health care coverage to working families and others who need it.

He criticized Tuberville's opposition to extending Affordable Care Act subsidies. Jones said many Alabama families depend on those subsides to buy health insurance "to keep their families healthy."

Alabama has not elected a Democratic governor since Don Siegelman in 1998. In 2020, Tuberville held Jones to about 40% of the vote, which has been the ceiling for Alabama Democrats in recent statewide races.

Retired political science professor Jess Brown said Jones lost in 2020 despite being a well-funded incumbent, and that's a sign that he faces an uphill battle in 2026.

“Based on what I know today, at this juncture of the campaign, I would say that Doug Jones, who’s a very talented and bright man, is politically the walking dead,” Brown said.

Jones acknowledged being the underdog and said his decision to run stemmed in part from a desire for Tuberville not to coast into office unchallenged.

Jones pointed to recent Democratic victories in Georgia, Mississippi and other locations as cause for optimism.

Tuberville, who previously headed up the football program at Auburn University, had “no record except as a football coach” when he first ran, Jones said. And “now there are five years of being a United States senator. There are five years of embarrassing the state.”

Jones continued to question Tuberville’s residency, saying he “doesn’t even live in Alabama, and if he does, then prove me wrong.” Tuberville has a beach house in Walton County, Florida, but has repeatedly said Auburn is his home.

Tuberville's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has previously noted that he defeated Jones handily in 2020. Tuberville spent part of Friday with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Huntsville to mark the official relocation of U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama.

Jones' 2017 victory renewed the hopes, at least temporarily, of Democratic voters in the Deep South state. Those gathered to hear him Friday cheered his return to the political stage.

“I’m just glad that there’s somebody sensible getting in the race,” Angela Hornbuckle said. “He proved that he could do it as a senator.”

Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and gubernatorial candidate waits to speak during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and gubernatorial candidate speaks during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and gubernatorial candidate speaks during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Gubernatorial candidate former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., speaks during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)