ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — When the Denver Broncos hired Gary Kubiak as their head coach before this season, running back Ronnie Hillman didn’t need to look at his resúmé.

All he had to do was look down the list of 1,000-yard rushers. In his time in the NFL, Kubiak’s kept them coming off the assembly line.

In Denver alone, when he was offensive coordinator from 1995 to 2005, Kubiak’s system made 1,000-yard rushers out of six running backs over 11 seasons: Terrell Davis four times, Orlandis Gary once, Mike Anderson twice, Clinton Portis twice, and Reuben Droughns once.

When he became the first head coach in Houston Texans history, he found a star in Arian Foster and turned him into a monster that rushed for least 1,200 yards in three straight seasons.

When he spent a season in Baltimore as John Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator last year, he mined Justin Forsett out of relative obscurity and unleashed him for 1,266 yards.

That was all the proof Hillman needed.

“Just from the history of the running backs he’s had, you do get excited because of the production they have.’’

Hillman had been in the league for three seasons, but still hadn’t fully tapped into the potential that made the Broncos take him with their third-round pick in 2012. He spent the first two years playing behind Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno, taking whatever carries were left. He got his first chance to carry a larger workload in 2014, when he largely split backfield duties with C.J Anderson and he turned 106 rushing attempts into 434 yards.

But with Kubiak’s reputation, he knew he had a golden opportunity.

“When he came in, you knew the running game was going to be big, you knew what we were going to do, you know the running game was going to be a big emphasis,’’ Hillman said.

Even for an offense with a monument under center in quarterback Peyton Manning.

Manning was a year removed from the scorched-earth 2013 season when he went on a season-long assault on every possible passing record. He was turning 39 years old. Injuries were chipping away at his abilities. The vision Kubiak came in with was one that would allow the Broncos’ running game to take some of the pressure off him.

But the process of finding a balance would take time.

For the first 10 weeks of the season, Manning averaged 33.1 pass attempts per game, but he had nearly twice as many interceptions (17) as touchdowns (nine) and an uncharacteristic 67.9 passer rating. Meanwhile, the running game was still sorting itself out. Coming off a breakout season in 2014, Anderson struggled early. Hillman split the carries. As a whole, the rushing attack was 29th in the league, mustering just 86 yards per game.

But when Manning went down with a plantar fascia injury in Week 10, things began to fall into place. The rushing production jumped 50 yards per game over the last seven weeks of the season. The Broncos won five of their last seven games and realized how critical the running game would ultimately be to their success.

“It’s been important to our team,’’ Kubiak said.

“When we’ve run the ball well and when we play well, physically, we’ve had some good things happen for our team. It’s something that we can always, hopefully, try to get done. You have to prepare in all areas, but it’s been something that has been important to our football team.’’

The identity of the team going into the AFC Championship game on Sunday against the Patriots is dramatically different from the one that faced the Patriots in the same game two years ago.

That 2013 team passed for a record 5,444 yards. This team will rely on a defense that’s given up the fewest yards in the league and a rushing attack that it hopes will control the game.

“I just think it gets back to ‘OK, how does your team win?’ ’’ Kubiak said. “You don’t force issues and say, ‘This is what we’re going to be.’ As a coach, you’ve got to say, ‘OK, this is what we have. This is what we do best. How are we going to win on Sundays?’ That’s how I’ve tried to approach it.’’

The success of the running game has meant adjustments for Manning.

When he returned last week for the Broncos’ divisional-round win over the Steelers, he threw for 222 yards on 21-of-37 passing, but Hillman and Anderson combined for 110 yards and the Broncos’ only touchdown.

“I don’t know how much it takes pressure off of [Manning], but it’s good for our football team,’’ Kubiak said.

“When we find a way to do that, our team has played more consistent and has played better. Obviously, it can help the quarterback, too. Like I said, I think the most important thing for us is that it’s just something that has been a key to some of our success this year. I’m sure that it will be important this weekend as well.’’

Hillman and Anderson also have had to adjust. Hillman carried the ball a career-high 207 times this season for 863 yards and seven touchdowns. Anderson turned his 152 attempts into 720 yards and five scores.

“I think C.J. and Ronnie have gotten more comfortable with what we’re doing,’’ said offensive coordinator Rick Dennison. “I think those guys have continuously gotten better together. I think, if anything, it’s been a repetition and confidence in what we’re doing.’’

The process of discovering and settling into a new offensive identity was quick, but necessary, Hillman said.

“It was different going from that’s the offense to what we are now,’’ Hillman said. “We have to run the ball for us to stay balanced and for us to be successful this week. That’s what we’re going to do. That’s just what we do and everybody knows it and we just have to hit them in the mouth.’’

Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com.