It was one of the darkest moments in J.K. Dobbins’ career. The preseason game in 2021 when two Washington defenders sandwiched him on a tackle and bent his knee and tore two ligaments. It somehow can still bring a smile to Dobbins’ face.
“Because,” the Chargers running back said, “I made it through that storm.”
The storm of two season-ending injuries in three years has cleared to reveal wide-open running lanes for Dobbins. Entering a prime-time reunion against his former team, Dobbins is a leading candidate for NFL comeback player of the year, a resurgence that matches his new franchise’s rise.
The former Ravens second-round pick is the AFC’s third-leading rusher with 726 yards, trailing Baltimore’s Derrick Henry (1,185 yards) and Houston’s Joe Mixon (764), who have both played one game more than the Chargers’ top rusher.
The Ravens (7-4) let the 25-year-old walk during free agency. In his search for his next home, Dobbins found a team that hadn’t won a playoff game since 2018 and was hoping to establish a new identity. It’s been a perfect match for the running back who is on pace to be the Chargers’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Melvin Gordon in 2017.
“This place fits my personality,” Dobbins said. “Just keep grinding and be relentless.”
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Despite flashes of brilliance as a rookie and a record-setting career at Ohio State, Dobbins was not a highly coveted commodity on the free-agent market. He had played in just nine games in the last three seasons. He had not one, but two significant injuries on his ledger with the 2021 knee injury and a torn Achilles in 2023.
Instead of looking for a multi-year deal that could provide security at the uncertain position, Dobbins signed a one-year contract with the Chargers. Former Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford asked the player he considers like a son what his plan was.
“ ‘I’m going to bet on myself,’ ” Alford recalled Dobbins saying. “ ‘I’m going to do great things and then we will revisit this in a year.’ “
“And,” Alford added, “he did.”
Alford isn’t surprised to see Dobbins’ triumphant return. He’s seen this movie before.
Dobbins missed all but six minutes of his senior season at La Grange (Texas) High because of an ankle injury suffered on his opening carry of the season opener. He returned to set the freshman rushing record at Ohio State with 1,403 yards.
Playing only three seasons for the Buckeyes, Dobbins finished as Ohio State’s second-leading rusher, trailing only Archie Griffin. Ohio State’s first 2,000-yard rusher, Dobbins finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2019. He didn’t miss a game during his college career.
The 5-foot-10, 215-pound running back is a mix of elite power and speed who simply makes plays “over and over and over,” Alford said. Fiercely dedicated to his goals, Dobbins “doesn’t accept mediocrity,” his former position coach added. After the Chargers lost back-to-back games this season, Dobbins sat motionless in his locker for several minutes with a towel covering his head. Even a two-game losing streak — just the second multi-game losing streak in Dobbins’ college and pro career — was unacceptable to him.
“He’s cut differently than most,” said Alford, now the running backs coach at Michigan.
The Chargers were starving for Dobbins’ playmaking and drive to turn the franchise around after years of mediocrity. A physical, running offense to complement quarterback Justin Herbert was a top priority for first-year offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who also coached Dobbins in Baltimore.
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The Chargers are 10th in the NFL in rushing attempts but rank 12th in rushing yards per game. Although they are committed to the run with Dobbins and fellow former Baltimore Ravens running back Gus Edwards, who also signed with the Chargers during free agency, the Chargers are not always efficient. Their 4.2-yard per rush average is tied for 20th in the league.
“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.”
Dobbins, who rushed for 27 yards in 10 carries before popping the game-winning touchdown for 29 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11, has no problem with a patient approach.
“That’s how I live life,” Dobbins said. “One day at a time, one play at a time, one minute at a time.”
The steady mindset got Dobbins through years of arduous rehab. He didn’t just tear the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the 2021 preseason game. The hit also tore his lateral cruciate ligament, shredded the cartilage in his knee and tore the hamstring off the bone.
Even compared to the Achilles he ruptured on Sept. 10, 2023 in the Ravens’ season-opening game, the knee injury was “damn hard,” Dobbins said. It required three surgeries over two seasons.
Dobbins tried to rush back. It was a relief getting back on the field on Sept. 25, 2022, he said, but while struggling to rush for 123 yards in 35 carries in four games, Dobbins knew he wasn’t himself. He got an arthroscopic procedure that shut him down for six weeks.
Then he rushed for 120 and 125 yards in his first two games after the surgery, proving his claim that when he’s healthy, he’s one of the league’s best running backs. He confirmed it when he opened this season with back-to-back 100-yard performances, a first for a Chargers player.
“The way he’s come back, I mean, to our eyes, it’s even better,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Faster, quicker, stronger than before he had those injuries. Then you think about the grueling rehab that went into that. … A lesser man could not have done it.”
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Now breaking down game film from Michigan games on Sundays, Alford rarely gets to watch his protege for extended periods now. By the look of the highlights he sees of Dobbins breaking free from defenders and somersaulting into the end zone, the running back definitely looks to be back to his old self.
But it’s not just Dobbins’ resurgence on the field that makes the coach most proud. Alford remains most in awe of the man Dobbins has grown into as he has never once allowed the dark days of physical therapy dim his smile.
“He is a light,” Alford said. “He’s a beacon of light for everyone around him.”
Now Dobbins’ bright smile is guiding the Chargers through the storm.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
