CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Nick Chubb’s season is over, and the Browns must pick up the pieces and move forward in his absence.
Such is the harsh reality of life in the NFL.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from head coach Kevin Stefanski following Monday night’s 26-22 loss in Pittsburgh.
Irreplaceable – Stefanski confirmed what we all knew – Chubb will undergo surgery and his season is over. Stefanski did not provide specifics as to how bad the injury Chubb suffered when Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick went low and hit Chubb in the left knee in the second quarter. “Very disappointed for Nick,” Stefanski said on a Zoom call Monday afternoon. “He means a lot to this team, means a lot to this organization so he will be missed. But he will bounce back. I have no doubt.” A league source told 92.3 The Fan Monday night the team believed Chubb,. A four-time Pro Bowler in six seasons, suffered multiple torn ligaments and other damage to the same knee he injured at Georgia. The Browns locker room was a somber scene following the game as players spoke about losing the “heart and soul” or “engine” of the team. Now the business of football forces everyone to move forward. “You don't replace Nick Chubb,” Stefanski said. “You just don't do that. Great players in the league, you look around, they go out. It's always not one person that replaces a player of his caliber. So everybody's got to do a little bit more, a little bit more everywhere. But we'll look at options there in terms of who we bring in.” Jerome Ford, who ran for 106 yards and caught a touchdown in the loss to the Steelers, will be the No. 1 running back going forward. The Browns are exploring options to add depth to the running back room without Chubb, who had amassed 6,511 yards and ranks fourth on the all-time franchise rushing list in 77 games since being selected in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Could former Browns back Kareem Hunt be an option? “We're in the early stages of looking at different options right now, so I can't really speak to anybody specific,” Stefanski said. “I think we just got to look at the options that are available. I don't know that there's one specific thing that we're looking for.”
On Watson – Deshaun Watson is running out of excuses – and time. The Browns gave him a record contract by guaranteeing $230 million and giving up six draft picks, including three first rounders, and when the time came for him to show up Monday night, Watson blew it. “I think we all have to play better,” Stefanski said. “I got to coach better. It runs the gamut when you're talking about winning and losing in the NFL. I think for us as an offense, I think it's very, very obvious. We can't turn the ball over four times. We call them giveaways. We can't give them anything. You give credit to their team. But we have to do a better job of protecting the football. Really everybody that touches it.” Watson’s first throw bounced off tight end Harrison Bryant’s hands and eventually was returned by Steelers defensive end Alex Highsmith 30 yards for a 7-0 lead. Highsmith strip sacked him in the fourth quarter and that was returned by T.J. Watt 16 yards for the eventual game-winning score. The timing continues to be off and according to ESPN, Watson ranks 32nd among quarterbacks with a 27.6 off target rate. Stefanski defended Watson Tuesday. “I think it's never about one person,” Stefanski said. “I completely understand that the quarterback gets way too much of the credit, way too much of the blame. That's just life of being a quarterback in the NFL. It's the head coach. You get all the credit. You don't deserve it. You get all the blame. It doesn't matter. You own it. So I know what he's made of. I know how he works, and I expect him to come in here and ready to work tomorrow. That's really where the focus is.” Watson had the ball at the Pittsburgh 47 trailing by 4 with less than two minutes to play. He misfired to Elijah Moore on second down, was sacked for a loss of 2 on third down and couldn’t connect with Donovan Peoples-Jones on a deep right route that may or may not have been pass interference. Stefanski sidestepped a question if Watson was still knocking off rust but offered this explanation for the off-target problems in the passing game. “When you're talking about the pass game, to be precise in the pass game, you need great protection,” Stefanski said. “You need great footwork from the quarterback position. You need guys to run routes at proper depth. We as coaches have to design it as such and get people in those spots. So it's never one thing you're going to miss throws. That's also part of football. There's plenty of good out there on tape. We just got to build off of it.”
Bad rep – Left tackle Jedrick Wills made a costly mistake that ultimately cost the Browns the game. Wills got beat off the line by Highsmith, who strip-sacked Watson and Watt scooped up the loose ball and returned it for the game-winning touchdown with 6:58 remaining. “You know, Jed had some moments that were really good,” Stefanski said. “We know he's a good player. Didn't get off the line clean on that rep. It was unfortunate.” Inconsistency and mistakes at key moments continue to define Wills’ career since being picked 10th overall in 2020.
No discipline for Watson – Watson won’t face league discipline for contact with an official following the first of two facemask penalties against the Browns quarterback on the Steelers sideline. “In the judgment of the officials, the contact did not rise to the level of a foul,” the league said in a statement via NFL.com. “Officials are called upon to maintain order on the field and sometimes while performing those duties there is inadvertent contact between players and officials.” Watson was barking at members of Pittsburgh’s sideline when officials stepped in to move him away and deescalate the situation. Replays showed Watson push the official to the side while he continued to yell in the Steelers direction.
Injury report – RB Nick Chubb was lost for the season with a knee injury; CB Greg Newsome II is “day to day” with an elbow injury; DE Za’Darius Smith suffered an ankle injury but returned to the game