After a key fumble against the Falcons in Week 2 of the 2012 season, Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno found himself on the scout team last season.
He was inactive for the next eight weeks.
“You make mistakes, and things happen,” said Moreno, a former Georgia Bulldog. “For me, I just wanted to get better. My role was not to be playing on Sundays. Wednesday was my Sunday, Thursday was my Sunday when I was out there on the scout team trying to make the defense better.”
But he’s won the trust of coach John Fox and turned in his best season in the NFL.
Moreno rushed 241 times for 1,038 yards and 10 touchdowns in the regular season. In playoff wins over San Diego and New England, he rushed 47 times for 173 yards and one touchdown.
He also provides a pass-catching threat for the Broncos. He caught 60 passes for 548 yards and three touchdowns in the regular season, and has caught five passes for 55 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs.
“You want to stay as balanced as you can,” Moreno said. “The pass complements the run, and vice versa. You want to stay as balanced as you can, but at the end of the day, it’s what they’re giving you, it’s whatever is working for you at the time. You’ve got to go with that.”
Moreno also had to prove himself to quarterback Peyton Manning.
“He strives for perfection, so you kind of want to be there and do the same thing,” Moreno said. “He rubs off on you a little bit that way. I just wanted to make sure I was doing the right things, being in the right place at the right time and getting better each week.”
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