There is a single and indisputable fact about the National Football League, which is that the game is a lot less fun when Nick Chubb is on the sidelines with an injury.
The Cleveland Browns and their fans learned that lesson the hard way in 2023 as Chubb was lost for the season with a severe knee injury early on in Cleveland’s Week 2 meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Related: Cleveland Browns Training Camp 2024: RB Preview, Part 1
A sidelined Chubb meant the talented running back’s climb up the franchise’s record book was put on hold. It also took away those key runs to ice a victory in the fourth quarter, and the game’s best stiff arm of would-be tacklers.
Perhaps most disappointedly, the league was denied the excitement of the explosive touchdown runs that have been a signature part of Chubb’s game since he entered the league in 2018 and ran 63 yards for a touchdown on his first regular-season carry.
While they may not have all been as exciting as that 105-yard, two-touchdown day against the then-Oakland Raiders that earned Chubb all of three carries, Chubb’s ability to take the ball into the end zone from anywhere on the field has put him among the league’s best. His nine touchdowns from outside the 10-yard line are second to only wide receiver Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers and running back Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens since 2021, even with missing most of last season, according to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis.
The Browns are anxiously waiting - and opposing defensive players are sweating out - Chubb’s return to the field, which continues to look like it will occur at some point in the 2024 season.
When that day arrives, the NFL and its fans will hopefully once again be treated to the sight of an explosive Chubb in the end zone on game days.
