Browns’ chubb faced Steelers for first time since knee injury

FILE – Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb (24) is supported in a wheelchair after being injured during a tackle by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Minkah Fitzpatrick during an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J Puskar, File)

BEREA — Nick Chubb’s latest look at the Steelers came with tearful eyes as he sat in the back of a car leaving the field.

He will meet them again on Thursday under much better circumstances.

Chubb will face hated rival Cleveland for the first time since last year, when the Browns running back suffered a second traumatic left knee injury – this time it ended his season, endangering his career and irritating his teammates.

While other players may seek revenge, not Chubb. Not his style.

“It’s the same normal game for me, pushing the same way and I’m looking forward to going out there and playing against a great team,” Chubb said Wednesday, dismissing any thoughts of revenge. “It’s just the way I am.

“It’s a football match. I have to go out there and play, no matter who we play or what we face. I always have the same attitude.”

What started as a routine running game in the second week of last season in Pittsburgh has not become normal for Chubb.

While receiving the pass and cutting the ball inside the Pittsburgh 5-yard line, Chubb was hit from the side by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who drove her arm into Chubb’s knee, grotesquely bending it in the opposite direction.

Chubb never called it a dirty hit. He hasn’t heard from Fitzpatrick since then either.

“I was talking to him on the pitch when it happened,” he said. “That’s it.”

Chubb underwent surgery a few weeks later to repair a torn medial collateral ligament, meniscus and medial capsule. Two months later, Chubb underwent a second surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament, which he also tore while in Georgia in 2015.

It seemed unrealistic when the Browns announced they expected Chubb to return at some point during the 2024 season.

But after seeing his unparalleled work ethic for six years, they knew not to doubt him, and when Chubb started running earlier than expected this spring, it was only a matter of time before No. 24 returned to Cleveland’s backfield.

His inspiring return – Chubb missed the first six games – was one of the few positives in the Browns’ (2-8) losing season.

“It’s amazing to see him here at all,” said star defensive end Myles Garrett. “To have that kind of resolution, to say, ‘this is going to be another bump in the road, it’s not going to stop me, it’s not going to set a limit for me,’ and continue to work on your (back) day after day off to get back on the field, play the game that loves and moves the way he does.

“Every time he steps on it, this guy is one of the most athletic people on the field. And to get even 99% of that back, 95% of that, it takes a hell of a lot of work, and he did everything he could to put himself in a position to play great games for us and be the cornerstone that he always was. So huge respect.”

It’s mutual support from the Steelers. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin calls him “Mr. Chubb.”

“I just have so much respect for his game, his body of work and his capabilities,” Tomlin said. “From a football standpoint, man, it’s really good to see him back. But for a guy who will be competing against him this week, he obviously has our attention.

The Browns intentionally lightened the load on Chubb by tightly managing his workload. His longest run was just 15 yards, but there were moments where he looked like his old self.

Guard Joel Bitonio clearly remembers that final goal last season and enjoys every opportunity Chubb gets now.

“It’s just a matter of who he is and the work he puts in,” Bitonio said. “You’re talking about what it takes to be a great teammate. It has all these features. He’s a friend and you never want to see a guy fall, so everything hurts, especially getting injured. It was certainly exciting, but I’m excited to have him back in the game and I hope he continues to build it up and get back to his Nick Chubb style of running.

COMMENTS: Garrett (hip) did not practice Wednesday but is expected to play. … The Browns placed Lt. Dawand Jones (broken leg) on injured reserve and sent Lt. Geron Christian off the Rams’ practice squad. He played nine games in Cleveland last year. … LT Jedrick Wills Jr. said he and the coaching staff are on the same page following his comment last week that he made a “business decision” to miss the final game with a knee injury. “It probably upset a lot of people,” Wills said. “I mean, that’s what it is. Everyone heard me explain what I said, so honestly I don’t care.