FOXBORO, Mass. — Nick Chubb may have carried the ball 20 times for 131 yards Sunday, but his total may have been higher had it not been for two costly fumbles.
During the first quarter of Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium, Lawrence Guy forced a fumble from Chubb. The ball was recovered by Dont’a Hightower, who ran it back for the touchdown. Chubb also fumbled the ball in the red zone, which was recovered by New England at the 5-yard line.
Chubb had gone 21 games without a fumble prior to Sunday and his teammates and coach know he will be tough on himself. But no one is pinning the blame on the running back.
“This isn’t Nick Chubb’s fault whatsoever,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said after the game. “There’s so many other things if we do it the right way, we’re in that ballgame.”
Head coach Freddie Kitchens said although it was “very out of character” for Chubb to fumble the ball twice, no one will be harder on the 23-year-old than himself.
“It means more to him than anything,” Kitchens said. “… I’m not killing Nick Chubb about it because Nick Chubb’s going to be there in the end.”
Odell Beckham Jr. believes the Browns’ next opponent, the Denver Broncos, will “be in trouble” because Chubb will be looking for revenge.
“I think they’re going to be in trouble next week as far as it goes with how hard he’s running that ball. … I know that he’s probably hard on himself right now but this is a team loss, a team game. No one person loses the game.”
Chubb has been a force for Cleveland this season and if he’s as hard on himself as Beckham said he is, then Browns fans may see one of his best games against the Broncos.
