RJ Harvey’s Best Game Yet Comes at Critical Time for Broncos

Here's what RJ Harvey's emergence actually signals for the Denver Broncos as they gear up for the stretch run.

Dec 7, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Denver Broncos running back RJ Harvey (12) carries the ball as. Las Vegas Raiders safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. (32) defends during the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Ever since J.K. Dobbins went down, the Denver Broncos have been looking for a way to get their run game going. Since Dobbins' injury, the Broncos averaged 73 rushing yards per game.

Yet, Sean Payton was still hopeful in the Broncos' running back room.

That hope finally paid off, as RJ Harvey had his best game as a pro in the Broncos' 24-17 victory to secure the sweep over the Las Vegas Raiders. Harvey ran the ball in Vegas 17 times for 75 yards with a touchdown, while adding six catches on six targets for 25 yards.

He finished as the Broncos' highest-graded player in Week 14, marking Harvey's first 100-yard scrimmage game, with his season-high being 98 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals back in Week 4. 

"I thought both backs ran hard, thought the guys up front played well. Thought we blocked the perimeter well," Payton said post-game. "And then, the play actions and some of the spread-out formations were efficient. So, it was a good win."

A Complete Performance

What makes this the best game of Harvey's pro career is that he was an asset in all three phases of the offense. The rushing and receiving stats were there, but the rookie also made an impact as a blocker, with one play in particular standing out where he cut the legs out from under Maxx Crosby to give Bo Nix more time. 

This was the kind of game that showed how big Harvey can be for this offense — not just statistically, but emotionally as well. There were multiple plays where he showed toughness and broke tackles, including a catch at the line of scrimmage that he broke away from to move the sticks, and plays like that bring so much energy to the offense. 

Now, it is a one-game sample size, but this is what the Broncos need out of Harvey over the final four games, at a minimum. This is what Payton and GM George Paton envisioned when they selected Harvey with the 60th overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. 

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Balance Achieved

Dec 7, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Denver Broncos running back RJ Harvey (12) carries the ball as Las Vegas Raiders safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. (32) defends during the second half at Allegiant Stadium. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

What Harvey was able to do was bring balance to the offense. Not necessarily a run/pass balance, but balance by not wasting downs as a runner as he had for most of the season.

Harvey had a 70.6% success rate, which is his second-highest mark of the season, with 75% being the highest in a game where he had four total carries. There is a significant difference between 75% on four runs and 70.6% on 17 runs. 

Throughout the season, there have been questions about Harvey, and this game illustrated how he'd struggled to adjust to the speed of the NFL game. The vision had been there as he followed his blockers and hit his landmarks, but he was being too patient waiting for the big play and didn't take what the defense was giving him. 

Either Harvey put it together, or the Broncos' coaching staff finally got it corrected, as he was getting the ball and going, and taking whatever the Raiders defense gave him, which led to great success. He was tackled for a loss once by the Raiders, which is noteworthy because they're actually a good run defense, ranking in the top half of the league. 

Part of what makes Harvey's success so noteworthy was his performance against stacked boxes, which the Raiders do over 50% of the time. He had 13 runs against a stacked box and picked up 60 yards, a 4.6 average per rush, while he had 19 rushes for 55 yards against stacked boxes in all the games prior, for a 2.9 average. 

The Takeaway

There are a lot of positives to take away from this game for Harvey, but there is a big question that remains: Can he continue this over the next four games?

Denver has the third-toughest remaining schedule. The Broncos are going to need Harvey, who may be the second-most-important player on offense over this stretch behind Bo Nix.