NEW ORLEANS — In a “Thursday Night Football” showdown, Denver’s run game stole the spotlight.

The Broncos posted 225 yards on the ground, marking the team’s best rushing performance in more than a decade.

“I think when we run the ball, we’re a tough team to beat,” left tackle Garett Bolles said after Thursday’s win over the Saints.

Denver set the tone early, when on the first play from scrimmage rookie quarterback Bo Nix scrambled down the middle of the field for a 14-yard gain. Nix never looked back, rushing for 75 yards and averaging 7.5 yards per carry in the win. Nix’s longest play with his legs came on a designed run in the third quarter, and the 32-yard rush set up a Javonte Williams touchdown on the next play.

“I think it’s just an added bonus,” Nix said of his ability to run the ball. “Obviously you want to run the ball in a special way with running backs and get behind the O-line. Sometimes things break down and those hidden yards I think are very important. They get extra first downs, and those are they too. ways to sneak in meters. So that was good to see, good to use, and we should continue to do that when it’s there.

While the Broncos took advantage of those opportunities with Nix’s 10 carries, Williams played his role and then some, leading the team with 88 rushing yards and an average of 6.3 yards per carry. The fourth-year running back, who leads Denver in total yards on the ground this season, also found the end zone twice to mark the first game of his career with multiple rushing touchdowns.

“Javonte had some really good runs,” Head Coach Sean Payton said Thursday. “When you have a night like that that’s rushing and the time of possession, the script is flipped a little bit from last week.”

Williams, who said this was his best game of the year in terms of rushing, noted that there are still some things he wants to clean up and improve as he moves forward. Nevertheless, it was a performance that gave him and his teammates some confidence, and one he will enjoy.

“It felt great,” Williams said. “Just to get the win here in New Orleans for Coach Payton, to have two touchdowns and to have a long weekend so I can enjoy it a little bit longer, it felt good.”