Nick Chubb, Details on Injury and What Now?
Despite all of the celebration with the Cleveland Browns’ 49-38 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, there was an unfortunate play the caused the injury of star running back Nick Chubb.
Four games into the year, Chubb had 335 yards rushing on 57 attempts (5.9 average) and four touchdowns. A continuously dominant force for a Browns offense that kicked it into high gear after a horrible team performance Week One in Baltimore. These following three weeks, the team averaged 39.3 points per game after only scoring six the first game.
This is the play that caused it:
After a MRI, this is the conclusion:
#Browns RB Nick Chubb is expected to miss roughly 6 weeks with his MCL sprain, source said, which includes a bye week. He could return in November.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 5, 2020
Such a shame.
Now, take Sunday’s game against Dallas and look at the box score. Chubb had 43 yards rushing on six carries before the unfortunate occurrence took place. Even so, RB Kareem Hunt had 71 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. RB D’Ernest Johnson had 13 carries for 95 yards.
If one was to include WR Odell Beckham’s gallops, the Browns rushed for a whopping 307 yards and three touchdowns on a combined 40 carries. That’s an average of 7.7 yards per carry.
No one is denying the loss of Chubb hurts this team. However, it’s not necessarily the end of the world. Take a trip down memory lane and think about how good Kareem Hunt was with the Kansas City Chiefs. 1,327 yards in 2017 and eight touchdowns, too. That’s good stuff…
Look at the potential D’Ernest Johnson has to produce for this offense, too. Those 95 yards running didn’t just come as an accident. Also, the kid is only 24-years-old and has a bright future. RB Dontrell Hilliard had five rushes for 19 yards, too.
It would be a shame to not give some credit to the offensive line for the incredible blocking allowing all of these backs to dominate the Cowboys. Those men really are a key cog to the total success of the team.
What’s kind of nice is that not much has to change moving forward. Simply Kareem Hunt will become the main back and D’Ernest Johnson will take on Hunt’s former role as “third-down back.”
Moving forward, the Browns need to continue the incredible execution sans Week One and use the other tools in the box to continue winning.
Everyone here at Cleveland Sports Talk wishes Nick Chubb a speedy recovery and cannot wait to see him back on the field as soon as the star running back is ready to DOMINATE once more!!!
