Tebow had played awful for 7½ quarters, getting sacked 13 times and throwing everywhere it seemed but to his receivers. So, the Broncos decided to quit trying to turn Tebow into a prototypical pro passer and instead modified their offense to fit Tebow’s unique skill set.

They all but dusted off the Dead Sea Scrolls in bringing back the option to the NFL, a style that made Tebow the best combination quarterback in NCAA history while at Florida.

In back-to-back wins at Oakland and Kansas City — something even Elway never accomplished — Tebow operated an offense that ran the ball 93 times and threw it 30. The Broncos gained 543 yards on the ground and 182 through the air.

Tebow completed just two passes against the Chiefs, but one was a 56-yard strike to Eric Decker for the winning score as the Broncos (4-5) climbed within a game of the Raiders in the AFC West.

Fox told NFL.com this week that if Tebow were running a conventional offense “he’d be screwed.”

Asked about that comment Wednesday, Fox backtracked: “I think at the time we were watching the second half of the Detroit game and the point was that him or any other quarterback in that situation, down 24-3, is not enviable and is not a good spot to be in. There’s a lot of different ways to put it.

“Or any game that you’re one-dimensional and you have to throw the ball 30 times in a half and the other team knows it, it’s not good.”

On the other hand, running the ball 30 times in a half would suit Fox just fine.

“This week is going to be about stopping the run,” said Rex Ryan, whose New York Jets (5-4) visit Denver for a Thursday night game just four days after an emotional loss to New England. “Obviously going against Denver, their priority is to run the football. You have to stop it or you don’t have to worry about playing pass defense or rushing the passer because they won’t throw it.”

Ryan’s extensive college coaching resume early in his career gives him lots of experience in defending the option, as does his time with Brad Smith operating the wildcat for the Jets. So he tapped into that know-how during the short work week.

Since Tebow supplanted Kyle Orton as the starting quarterback, the Broncos have rushed for an NFL-high 915 yards and moved up from 23rd in the league in rushing to second. Tebow has gained 283 of those yards.

The Broncos ran the ball 87 percent of the time at Kansas City last weekend even though their top two tailbacks, Willis McGahee (left hamstring) and Knowshon Moreno (right knee), got hurt in the first quarter.

“This past game was really interesting,” Ryan said. “They only put the ball up in the air eight times, but that’s all they needed to do. They were able to move the ball really effectively on the ground. The 55 rushing attempts, I think any true football fan appreciates that kind of style of play.

Of all the players on the Broncos’ roster, save for quarterback Tim Tebow, no one might know more about playing in an option offense than the new guy.

Running back Jeremiah Johnson, who was signed off Denver’s practice squad Monday to replace the injured Knowshon Moreno, played in a similar scheme during his college career at Oregon.

“I majored in that,” Johnson said, laughing.

Tuesday marked Johnson’s first practice when he was focused on the Broncos’ game plan instead of serving as the scout team’s running back. But he said he will be ready if the Denver coaches want to give him some carries Thursday night against the Jets. Johnson didn’t play any offensive snaps in Week 2 during his first appearance on the active roster.

“Since we got Tebow at quarterback, it has been a situation where we were going to run the option, and I was like, ‘I can do that,’ ” Johnson said. “If they put me in there, I’m going to make the best of it.”

Johnson could get significant playing time against the Jets if a sore hamstring keeps Willis McGahee sidelined Thursday. McGahee was limited in practice Tuesday.

“I really like the way McGahee is running. I hope he needs to rest this week and decides not to play this week,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said during a conference call. “He looks good.”

Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com

The Broncos’ offense that likes to do little else but run, run, run and run will have to do it without one of its top runners. Former first-round draft pick Knowshon Moreno’s season is over after the tailback suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament Sunday at Kansas City, coach John Fox said Monday.

To fill Moreno’s roster spot, the Broncos signed running back Jeremiah Johnson off their practice squad.

In their ideal scenario, the Broncos will go into Thursday night’s home game against the New York Jets with starter Willis McGahee, backup Lance Ball and Johnson.

But McGahee’s status remains tenuous because of a hamstring injury he suffered early in the first quarter of the Broncos’ 17-10 victory over the Chiefs. McGahee, who is expected to practice today, was cleared to return to Sunday’s game at Arrowhead Stadium but was held out in hopes that rest would help ensure a full recovery in time for him to play against the Jets.

“He’s a guy we’d like to have healthy Thursday night,” Fox said of McGahee.

And no wonder. McGahee has been among the NFL’s best rushers, averaging more than 100 yards per start before he was injured Sunday. The Broncos fared just fine without McGahee and Mo-reno against Kansas City. Ball rushed 30 times for 96 yards — a big part of the team’s total of 244 yards.

The shuffled tailback rotation will do little to change the run-first mentality, at least until an opposing defense finds a way to force the Broncos to pass, something neither the Raiders nor Chiefs could do in the past two games. The Broncos have averaged 40.7 rushes and only 24 passing attempts in the four games Tim Tebow has been their starting QB.

“We were looking for balance. We might have gone a little over the other edge,” Fox said, laughing.

The knee injury is a major setback for Moreno, the No. 12 pick in the 2009 draft who has struggled to stay healthy. He didn’t play in two games in September because of

a hamstring injury and had been used primarily as a third-down back. He gained only 179 yards on 37 carries this season. But he was showing flashes Sunday of the potential he showed during his college days at Georgia, particularly when he hurdled Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers during a 24-yard run.

“He had that hamstring early in the season and battled back from that, and was getting back into the groove,” Fox said. “He was having a really, really good day (at Kansas City). It’s unfortunate. But he’s tough-minded and will battle back from this.”

Johnson is in his second year in the NFL but has yet to record a rushing attempt. He spent one week on the Broncos’ active roster in mid-September, playing on special teams against Cincinnati.

But in his role as the scout team tailback, he has impressed Denver teammates and earned the trust of the coaching staff.

“The upside with Jeremiah is he’s been with us,” Fox said. “He knows the nomenclature, he knows the teammates. He’s given our defense a real good look and been helpful in getting us better against the run.”

Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com

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Tale of the tailbacks

A look at the Broncos’ running backs heading into Thursday night’s home game against the New York Jets:

• Knowshon Moreno: Suffered season-ending knee injury Sunday in 17-10 win at Kansas City.

• Willis McGahee: Broncos’ leading rusher suffered hamstring injury against the Chiefs and didn’t play after the first quarter. Coach John Fox hopeful he will be good to to go Thursday.

• Lance Ball: Career backup gained 96 yards Sunday. Gets his first NFL start if McGahee is out.

• Jeremiah Johnson: Signed off practice squad Monday to take Moreno’s spot on active roster.

More inaction for Moreno

Knowshon Moreno’s season-ending knee injury, suffered Sunday at Kansas City, is the latest disappointment in his Broncos career:

• 2009 — Moreno, a first-round draft pick from Georgia, missed the start of his first training camp because of a contract holdout. Then he suffered a sprained knee during the first quarter of his first preseason game. The tailback missed the remainder of the preseason.

• 2010 — Moreno suffered a significant hamstring injury to each leg. The first injury happened on the first day of training camp, forcing Moreno to again miss an entire preseason. The other injury kept him out of three games during the first half of the season.

• 2011 — Moreno suffered a strained hamstring in the season opener at Oakland and the injury kept him out of the Week 2 game against Cincinnati. He dressed, but didn’t play, the next week at Tennessee.

Lindsay H. Jones, The Denver Post

 ENGLEWOOD — As the Denver Broncos fine-tune the playbook to fit
Tim Tebow’s style, they have become increasingly reliant on the
ground game. 

 With the approach, they’re off and running. 

 Banking on an unconventional option-style offense led by an
unorthodox quarterback, Denver has suddenly surged back into
contention in the mediocre AFC West. The Broncos (4-5) have won
three of their last four games with everyone pretty much knowing
exactly what they are going to do — run and run some more. 

 Not that it’s mattered. 

 So unique is this read option — similar to what Tebow ran
during his days at Florida — that teams are struggling to contain
it. 

 ‘‘We’re trying to do what’s going to help us win and in my
opinion that’s all part of coaching — putting players in position
to utilize their abilities,’’ Broncos coach John Fox said. 

 However, their backfield took a hit Monday with word that
backup tailback Knowshon Moreno will have season-ending ACL surgery
on his right knee.

  But leading rusher Willis McGahee (hamstring) is expected to
return, even on short rest, for the game Thursday night against the
New York Jets (5-4). As an insurance policy, the Broncos promoted
second-year running back Jeremiah Johnson from their practice
squad. 

 The more backs the better, especially with as much as the Broncos
prefer to run the ball these days. 

 Of their 63 offensive plays Sunday in a 17-10 win over Kansas
City, 55 were on the ground. With Moreno and McGahee sidelined due
to injuries sustained in the first quarter, third-string tailback
Lance Ball picked up the slack as he carried the ball 30 times for
96 yards. 

 Tebow did his part, too, running for 43 yards.  

 Not only that, but he turned in the game’s biggest play with his
arm, not his legs. Tebow lofted a deep pass to a wide open Eric
Decker for a 56-yard game-sealing TD in the fourth quarter.  Tebow
only threw the ball eight times, completing just two for 69
yards. 

 And while Fox wouldn’t mind seeing more of an equal blend between
the run and pass, he’s not going to quibble with the end
results. 

 ‘‘We do have to throw the ball with more efficiency. I think we
all know that in that locker room,’’ Fox said. ‘‘We’ve got a young
quarterback that’s doing a terrific job, in my estimation, who will
just get better with time.’’ 

 Especially in an offense that’s being tweaked just for him. Tebow
has become quite proficient at sticking the ball in a running
back’s gut, surveying the defense and either taking it back out to
hightail it around the end or allowing the back to continue through
the line. 

 Just like the former Heisman Trophy winner did in college. 

 ‘‘I think it’s just one more thing for people to prepare for,’’
Tebow said of the unique offense. ‘‘It’s not like we went out there
and did a lot (Sunday) but it’s something you have to scheme for,
you have to prepare for and you have to be sound.’’ 

 The Broncos added another wrinkle to their run-oriented offense
Sunday as well — pitchouts to receiver Eddie Royal. It’s simply one
more way to keep a defense honest. 

 ‘‘Hey, as long as you’re moving the ball, possessing the ball,
giving your defense some rest, it’s all good,’’ Fox said. ‘‘Run,
pass, if they let you kick it down the field, I wouldn’t mind doing
that either. As long as you’re moving the ball, that’s the
key.’’ 

 The ancillary benefit of all the running plays is this: Denver’s
defense receives more of a breather. 

 ‘‘When you can run the ball and shorten the game, it definitely
helps,’’ rookie linebacker Von Miller said. ‘‘You have time to
recover.’’ 

 Miller understands full well why teams are having difficulty
reading and reacting Tebow and the option offense. He sees it in
practice and still hasn’t quite figured out all the nuances. 

 ‘‘It’s pretty tough to stop it,’’ Miller said. 

 Even more so with a short week to prepare. The Jets are busy
devising a game plan to contain Tebow and the Broncos’ run-first
approach just days after facing the spread offense of Tom Brady and
the New England Patriots. 

 It’s quite a contrast for the Jets. 

 ‘‘They’ve got a top-10 defense in the National Football League so
they know what they’re doing,’’ Fox said. ‘‘It’s tough on this kind
of turnaround, regardless of what you’re preparing for. It’ll be
challenging for both of us.’’ 

 Notes: To fill Johnson’s spot on the practice
squad, the Broncos signed RB Xavier Omon. . . . Miller said the
$15,000 fine he received from the NFL for roughing Oakland QB
Carson Palmer won’t cause him to think twice about how he plays.
‘‘It’s really just shoot first and ask questions later,’’ Miller
said. ‘‘It’s just a split-second decision that you have to make.’’
. . . OLs Ryan Clady and Chris Clark were listed as limited on the
injury report with knee injuries. The Broncos said the report was
an estimate since the team had the day off Monday. DBs Brian
Dawkins (ankle) and Cassius Vaughn (hamstring), LB Wesley Woodyard
(knee) and McGahee (hamstring) also were listed as limited.

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