Nick Chubb’s knee injury has him landing on IR

Browns RB Nick Chubb will head to IR after getting hurt against the Cowboys.

The Cleveland Browns have surprised many by racing out to a 3-1 start after a poor Week 1 showing against the Baltimore Ravens, and the main reason why is the fact Nick Chubb and the running game have been as difficult to stop as any in the league. The runaway train that Chubb has become was derailed against the Dallas Cowboys, as he suffered a serious knee injury.

Adam Schefter has confirmed that Chubb will go on IR due to his injury. Because of the new IR rules for this season, Chubb is eligible to return after three weeks, meaning he will miss games against the Colts, Steelers, and Bengals, at minimum.

Nick Chubb has been one of the best running backs in the league so far in 2020

Chubb was four yards short of 1,000 in his rookie season, and he made his first Pro Bowl in 2019 after totaling 1,772 yards from scrimmage and scoring eight times, averaging 5.0 yards per carry in each of those seasons. Chubb is currently second in the league in rushing yards behind Dalvin Cook, running for 335 yards on 5.9 yards per carry.

Kareem Hunt, who has a rushing title under his belt with the Chiefs, will start in his absence. His past history indicates he’ll be able to shoulder the load for Kevin Stefanski. Third-stringer D’Ernest Johnson has 95 yards on 13 carries last week, but one has to take into account the porous Dallas defense he compiled those numbers against.

Hunt is arguably the best backup running back in the league, so the drop-off in production might not be too precipitous, but Baker Mayfield and their play-action game might be less effective without Chubb in the lineup. Cleveland needs him back if they want to contend for a division title.