Instead of decompressing at halftime, Spencer Larsen was stressing - and cramming.
Peyton Hillis' right hamstring injury that ended his afternoon Sunday put Larsen in emergency mode.
Tatum Bell was the only other running back in uniform, and if something would have happened to him, Larsen - a fullback/linebacker - was on deck in the seasonlong revolving door among Broncos ball carriers.
"I opened up the book and went through all the protections and all the routes off protections," Larsen said, adding, "I was praying that Tatum stayed healthy. I would have gone in and done it, but it wouldn't have been a position I would have felt very comfortable in."
Hillis scored a touchdown for the fourth straight game before he was injured on a third-and-2 play in the second quarter.
He went out into the pass pattern and was double-teamed. He leaped high in the air to make an 11-yard catch. But his right leg planted firmly in the ground on his landing while the leg of Kansas City safety Jarrad Page struck Hillis in the shin.
Hillis was diagnosed with a hamstring injury, and regarding the recovery time, coach Mike Shanahan said "normally it's a month at best," when a player "comes off the field like he did."
Hillis was more optimistic, said he felt "fine" and while "it's one of those things that's unfortunate . . . I should be back fairly early." He also declined to put a timetable on the injury, saying, "they're trying to figure out stuff and they're not sure."
He'll have a magnetic resonance imaging exam today.
"It's just tight," Hillis said. "Maybe it's a contusion. Maybe it's something that slight."
Bell, signed off the street on Nov. 11, had six carries for 39 yards in the second half, keeping Larsen as a blocker.
"I want to prove to the coaches I can handle the carries and that's my role," said, Bell, who finished with 52 yards on 11 carries. "I'm ready for whatever they want to give me. . . . I'm just glad they trust me."
P.J. Pope, who played solidly against Atlanta but has battled a rib injury, also should be available. Selvin Young (groin) was listed as participating fully in recent practices but still might not be healthy enough to play.