Written by Andrew Mason at Broncos.com
John Elway said 14 months ago that he wanted a team that, if it went down, did so “kicking and screaming.”
No player on the roster epitomizes that more than running back C.J. Anderson.
When the Broncos capitulated in the January 2015 divisional-round playoff loss to Indianapolis, Anderson was one of the players who fought hardest to keep the Broncos’ dying season alive. His fourth-and-1 conversion on the final play of the third quarter that day, a run in which he doubled back and made five defenders miss on a 7-yard carry, would have been a season-saving play if the offense had not stalled immediately thereafter.
Anderson left every ounce of his being on the field that day, but it was for naught. Months later, he would say that despite his valiant efforts, he didn’t do enough because he didn’t score a touchdown.
That’s just C.J. Anderson. Nothing short of team victory is good enough, regardless of the individual statistics.
A year later, his persistence and drive were rewarded, and he burrowed and pounded through a thicket of Panthers — including All-Pro Luke Kuechly — for the touchdown that sealed the Broncos’ first world championship of the 21st century.
Both of those runs were in the playoffs, which, along with the late part of the regular season is when Anderson has been at his best. In the last two seasons, no running back has more yardage from scrimmage after Week 8 — including the postseason — than Anderson. The only two players with more late-season and postseason yardage in the last two years are wide receivers: Odell Beckham of the New York Giants and Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown.
Anderson is at his best in the highest-leverage situations. That’s a big part of why the Broncos matched his offer.
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