After getting torched by RB Christian McCaffrey in their 30-7 Week One loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Pittsburgh Steelers opposing running back matchup doesn’t get any easier in Week Two with Nick Chubb and the Cleveland Browns coming to Acrisure Stadium. During his Tuesday press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said they don’t need their tape against McCaffrey to prepare for Chubb.
“We’ve got enough tape against Nick Chubb,” Tomlin said via the team’s YouTube channel.. “We played him a few years ago up there, we had this mantra that we was going to slow down Mr. Chubb, he reeled off about a 40-yard run on the second play of the game. We got respect for that guy and them and their ability to run the football.”
The run Tomlin referenced happened in the final game of the 2020 season. Chubb ran 14 times for 108 yards in a 24-22 Cleveland win, one game before they embarrassed the Steelers in the postseason. In that 48-37 postseason win, Chubb ran for 76 yards and also picked up 69 yards and a touchdown through the air.
Chubb’s found consistent success against Pittsburgh, averaging 4.6 yards per carry in 10 games and running for 729 total yards. He’s had three games of 90-plus rushing yards against Pittsburgh, with his best game coming last season when he ran for 113 yards on 23 carries in a 29-17 win on Thursday Night Football in Week Three.
Needless to say, the Steelers need to find a way to slow down and stop Chubb. The run defense was porous against McCaffrey and the 49ers on Sunday, and Chubb is a similar caliber of running back. While he isn’t as twitchy and less of a factor in the receiving game as McCaffrey, he’s going to be able to win with power more. His history of success against Pittsburgh could give him some confidence on Monday Night.
It’ll be a nice confidence boost for the Steelers though if they’re able to stop or at least slow down Chubb. He’s not a surprise to them, with the team very aware of what he’s capable of doing. If the defense can tackle better and win at the point of attack, it should be better than it was against San Francisco.
Obviously, the Steelers can use the San Francisco tape to look at where things went wrong against McCaffrey and try to plan accordingly for Chubb. Rookie DL Keeanu Benton said he was glad the Steelers got a taste of McCaffrey early, and with them now having already faced one elite runner, maybe they’ll be better equipped to handle another. We’ll find out next week.
