text: The Denver Broncos headed into Week 7 fresh off of a loss the week prior. After winning three straight, Denver saw their win-streak get cut against the Los Angeles Chargers during an AFC West duel in Week 6 at Mile High. Sean Payton got his team back into the win column on Thursday Night Football, however.
  Running back Javonte Williams was perhaps the biggest reason why.
  Williams had gone scoreless through the first six games of his ’24 campaign, totaling 25 yards or more on the ground just twice this season. With an average of 3.61 yards per attempt prior to Thursday’s contest, 40 running backs across the NFL gained more yards per carry than Williams.
  That changed in a big way against the New Orleans Saints.
  On 14 carries, Williams averaged 6.3 rushing yards for a total of 88 on the day. His scoreless season came to an end as well. Although he had yet to find the end zone through the season’s first six games, Williams crossed the goal line twice for two touchdowns on Thursday night.
  Only three running backs league-wide totaled more runs of 10+ yards than the Broncos tailback, with only two running backs being responsible for most first downs.
  The question now is, can Williams build on his dominant Week 7 outing?
  Denver Broncos RB Javonte Williams has favorable matchup in Week 8 followed by difficult AFC West battle
  For Javonte Williams, there’s good news and bad news that directly follows the good.
  The good news is, he’ll run against a Carolina Panthers team in Week 8 that allows the most rushing yardage in the entire NFL (1,135). Carolina has also allowed three more rushing touchdowns than any club league-wide.
  Then, there’s the bad news.
  Williams will go from running against the 32nd-ranked rushing defense to running against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9, who allow less rushing yards than any team in the NFL (479). Immediately after that, Week 10 welcomes the Kansas City Chiefs whose defense is responsible for the third-least rushing yards (543) and fourth-least rushing touchdowns (4).
  Running room is going to be at a premium for Williams in Weeks 9 and 10.
  Although the next three weeks presents two exceptional run defenses, it’s not impossible for Williams to find success – a strong game against the Panthers can create enough momentum to snowball into the following contests.
  Taking advance of Carolina’s poor run defense is step one for Javonte Williams.
  *Top Photo: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images