a Week 5 loss to the Chargers, McGahee rushed for 125 yards on 16 carries. In the Week 7 win against the Dolphins, in the early second half McGahee already racked up 76 yards with an average of 4.2 yards per carry. It looked as if McGahee was on pace for his third-straight 100 yard game, and fourth of the season. However, McGahee fractured his hand early in the second half as well. In that game, McGahee could have moved up from 10th in the NFL in rushing to 8th. McGahee was unable to play the following week against the Lions due to his injury. The Broncos lost 45–10. However, the following week against the Raiders, McGahee came back with a strong performance. He put up 163 rushing yards, which included a 60-yard touchdown and 24-yard touchdown in the 38–24 victory. In a Week 10 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, McGahee ran up one of his blockers legs, and suffered a left hamstring injury. He was taken to the locker room and listed as questionable to return. Head coach John Fox stated in a post-game press conference that McGahee was fine and could've returned in an emergency situation. Fox said McGahee would most likely be able to play in the next game. On November 23, 2011, McGahee was named a team captain after the release of captain and backup quarterback Kyle Orton. Coach Fox attributed this to the fact that McGahee "had the next most votes when we took the vote [for team captain] back before the season started." In the Week 12 versus the Chargers, he rushed for 117 yards on 23 carries. The 117 yards included two 20-plus yard runs. One of which was a 24-yard run in overtime which set up the Broncos inside of the 20-yard line. This critical run set up the game-winning field goal for Denver. In a Week 13 win against the Vikings, he picked up 111 yards on the ground, which included a 24-yard touchdown run. In Week 15 against the New England Patriots, McGahee rushed for 70 yards averaging 10 yards per carry but was unfortunately pulled out of the game due to a hamstring injury. With only 10 yards to go to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark, Willis was able to accomplish that feat on a 24-yard run against the Buffalo Bills in week 16. He ended the game with