I think you always have to expect defenses will play a little better in the playoffs, especially early in the game. You’d expect the Broncos defense to come in all fired up about stopping the Patriots’ run game. That’s why I’d consider spreading them out just to take them away from what they likely spent most of the week preparing for… i.e. Blount.
Either way the goal will be to stick with the run game throughout the game. It’s not about running it in the first quarter, it’s about running it in the fourth quarter to bleed the clock and take advantage of what will hopefully be a tired Broncos defense that has it’s head spinning from the balanced and unpredictable nature of the Patriots offense.