"It was mid-November and with his offense sputtering Redskins coach Mike Shanahan was asked about the ineffectiveness of the running game, something that had always been a staple of his Denver Broncos teams, and the coach vowed that improvements would soon come.

"We will get that running game back," Shanahan said. "I promise you. We've been doing it over 20 years, and that's our trademark."

Production in the running game did return thanks to a pair of young backs."