Let's say Brezhnev and major hardliners like Suslov are on leave for the whole of March-Early April 1979, during the Herat Uprising. They tell t the people they leave behind, "Don't inform us about politics until we come back for we want quality vacation time!" Only Kosygin is left in the Kremlin (say he was not invited much to his disappointment). Taraki calls the remaining power in Moscow: Kosygin.
Kosygin tells Taraki to reach an agreement with party dissidents and in the meantime reached out to the more moderate elements among conservative tribal leaders. But still, Kosygin, knowing either way he will be forced to intervene, decides to put at least some troops there (just some). But still, Brezhnev and other hardliners upon returning go full-on with troops and aircraft in Afghanistan. So their situation is:
1.) Successful soaking off rebels from the hard core Islamic fundamentalists. Basically social reform.
2.) Around the same amount of military support IOTL.
So with more support from the people and with a large amount of aid, I think the USSR might have won in Afghanistan very quickly. Assuming the USSR reforms (ex. without a Chernobyl like Inaki's TL) and the Eastern Bloc survives, what's Afghanistan's status today? Well no doubt it would have been much, much better.
This is related to my other thread "Ramon Magsaysay as President 1953-61 or 1953-65".