While the AFC North is currently being looked upon as arguably the toughest division in football with the strongest group of quarterbacks from top to bottom, one would be remiss not to mention the running games involved, and certain running backs in particular.
On top of that list has to be Nick Chubb, who has a strong case to make as the best running back in football. Since being drafted in the second round in 2018, he has largely carried the Cleveland Browns to whatever success they have managed to achieve.
It’s been a chore for the Pittsburgh Steelers whenever they’ve gone up against him—certainly no picnic. OLB Alex Highsmith would not count it among his favorite assignments. “Every time we go against Nick Chubb and the Browns, it’s always a good challenge”, he Randy Baumann and the WDVE Morning Show. “He’s definitely one of the toughest tackles for sure that I’ve had to go against tackling-wise”.
The sixth-year veteran has rushed for 6,341 yards since coming into the league. He has averaged at least five yards per carry every season, with his lowest rushing output being 996 yards as a rookie, a season in which he did not begin as the starter. He has 48 rushing touchdowns and 52 in total. His 13 touchdowns from scrimmage in 2022 were a career-high, two of which came against Highsmith’s unit.
In nine total games against the Steelers, including one in the postseason, Chubb has rushed for 729 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per carry, with two rushing touchdowns and 159 attempts. He also has two receiving touchdowns on 13 receptions for another 153 yards.
He was not the starter for his first two games against Pittsburgh, however, so the numbers look even better in the most recent seven. The Steelers have, to their credit, held him to only two 100-yard games, commendable given that he has 29 of them in his career. Five of them have been against the Cincinnati Bengals, though only one against the Baltimore Ravens.
Still, the Browns are 3-6 in the nine games against which they faced the Steelers with Chubb. He rushed for at least 92 yards in each of those wins, his top three performances against them, so it’s evident that there’s a strong correlation between his success on the ground and Cleveland’s ability to defeat the Steelers.
Their most recent win came in September 2022, a 29-17 affair during which the Steelers held a lead at halftime before things fell apart. Chubb scored the winning points on a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The lopsided score, however, is misleading, as the game ended in a fumble recovery for a touchdown on a lateral attempt on a play that began with nine seconds to go, trailing by six.
The Steelers gave themselves a puncher’s chance at the end of that game by stopping Chubb for no gain on the previous play on 3rd and 1. It was originally ruled that he had gained the yard, but the ruling on the field was challenged by the replay official and overturned. That was Mitch Trubisky’s final front-to-back game as starter before being pulled.
They did a better job on Chubb the second time around that season, or rather, of limiting his usage. The Browns only allowed him 12 rushes, on which he managed 77 yards. He did score a two-yard touchdown on a reception, one of five for 45 yards, but in a losing effort, 28-14.
