J.K. Dobbins understands that midseason recognition doesn’t carry much weight, but being named as a potential Comeback Player of the Year gives him extra motivation for the rest of the season.
The Los Angeles Chargers running back ranks third in the AFC with 620 rushing yards, averaging 4.92 yards per carry heading into Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.
“My goal is to keep going at the rate that I’m going and get better, and maybe I will get that award,” Dobbins said after practice on Wednesday. “That would mean a lot to me, especially with everything I’ve been through in my career. It would be amazing, but we’ve got half a year left.”
Dobbins was drafted in the second round by the Baltimore Ravens in 2020 but faced major injuries in two of the past three seasons. He tore his Achilles’ in the season opener last year after dealing with a knee injury during the preseason in 2021. He also missed six weeks in 2022 after undergoing surgery to remove scar tissue from that knee injury.
Dobbins signed a one-year contract with the Chargers this offseason, reuniting him with offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who was with the Ravens during Dobbins’ first three seasons in Baltimore.
The Chargers’ commitment to running the ball — even when their rushing attack has struggled at times — has helped bring more balance to their offense after they leaned heavily on the pass for the past few years.
After having the second-highest pass play rate in the league over the last three seasons, the Chargers have called run plays 46% of the time this year, the eighth-highest rate in the league at the season’s midpoint.
“Maybe it doesn’t look pretty on the stat sheet, but it’s serving a greater purpose,” Roman said. “I kind of look at it as chess. In chess, you set things up. You’re doing this to set that up. Sometimes, you’ve got to transition and pivot quickly in the course of the game.”
Dobbins — who had 85 yards and two touchdowns in the Chargers’ 27-10 win over Cleveland last Sunday — has rushed for at least 85 yards in four games during the first eight games of the season. He is the first Chargers running back to do that since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2003.
Out of the 19 NFL running backs with at least 100 carries, Dobbins has the second-highest percentage of carries that gained zero or negative yards (23.3%), but he’s also one of only four running backs who have rushed for 12 yards or more on at least 10% of their carries (10.3%).
“I think it shows the character of this team. In the NFL, you can’t have a big play every play. So you got to stick with your ideas, and that is what we’re doing,” he said. “There might be a 1-yard gain here and there, but eventually it will turn into 20- or 40-yard gains.”
Dobbins’ performance, along with the growth of the passing game with a healthy Justin Herbert, has helped make the Chargers’ offense more effective since the bye week, with the team winning three of their last four games.
Herbert has thrown for at least 279 yards in each of the past three games, which is the kind of production Chargers fans have come to expect since he was the sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft. However, the improvement in the running game has also helped take some of the pressure off of Herbert.
“The more we pass, the more Cover 2 and shell (coverage) we’re going to get, and that helps our run. Being able to run the ball when we’re passing it holds defenses accountable,” Herbert said.
“As long as we’re able to do both, that’s when we’re playing our best football. J.K. is a special back and whenever you can give him the ball, especially in those two high looks, he is going to do something special with the ball.”
The Chargers will face a Titans defense that gives up the fewest yards in the league, allowing just 269.1 yards per game. Tennessee ranks 11th against the run, allowing 113.4 yards per game, and they’ve only allowed one 100-yard rusher this season. That came when Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 127 yards two weeks ago.
“They build their team off running the ball. They got a great back in J.K. He’s looking like himself before the injury, and much respect to him,” Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said.
“Kind of talked a little bit, you know, throughout the offseason and stuff in that nature when he was even in Baltimore. So I think just to see him back to running the ball the way he runs it, that’s the way you kind of stop their offense.”
