Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin surging, but pass protection out of whack

A regular season of ugly aesthetics and scintillating comebacks is complete in Denver, with the Broncos streaking into the playoffs and able to now “see the light,” as head coach Sean Payton said postgame Sunday.

Much was left to be desired in a 19-3 win over the Chargers in Week 18. Much was also left to be adored.

Here is The Denver Post’s final regular-season stock report.

Stock up

Jaleel McLaughlin: The Broncos should be feeding this man the ball. Now. Expeditiously. After McLaughlin’s role waned for a couple of weeks in December, he has slowly entered more of a two-back system with rookie RJ Harvey and produced nearly every single time he’s gotten the ball. Since Week 16, he has averaged 7.1 yards per touch. Simply put, he’s been one of Denver’s most efficient players offensively.

Still, he’s averaged under 25% of the Broncos’ offensive snaps in that time. Harvey has been excellent in situational work, but had a heck of a rough game Sunday, with just 28 rushing yards on 15 carries and a bad drop in the screen game. McLaughlin is more productive on a per-touch basis with the ball in his hands, and is simply seeing holes up front better than Harvey across the last month.

Rest: Ah, yes. The most important outcome of Sunday’s win. Let’s count a few of the bruises and bumps and dings across this Broncos roster, why don’t we:

• Left tackle Garett Bolles missed the end of the first half with an ankle injury
• Safety P.J. Locke (filling in for starting safety Brandon Jones, who’s on injured reserve) missed the entire second half with a leg injury
• Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto is wearing a massive knee brace that makes him look part cyborg
• Tight end Nate Adkins is wearing a massive knee brace that makes him look part cyborg
• Defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers missed Sunday’s game with a hip injury

That’s six key pieces dinged up, and all without mentioning starting inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw (out with a hamstring injury) or running back J.K. Dobbins (who’s slowly building momentum to a potential late-playoffs return).

Denver now has the benefit of an entire week off before a week of preparation against whoever they’ll play in the AFC divisional round, which could go a long way toward some cohesion on a dinged-up offensive front and a dinged-up defense.

Justin Strnad’s wallet: Strnad has been trapped in the ultimate limbo in 2025 as the Broncos’ erstwhile No. 3 linebacker, a designation that’s been a heck of a lot more important than it sounds.