Nick Chubb was carted off the field in Pittsburgh on Monday after the Browns running back suffered a knee injury that is expected to sideline him for the rest of the season.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed the news to reporters after his team lost 26-22 to the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on ‘Monday Night Football”, calling the knee injury significant.
“It (freaking) hurts,” defensive end Myles Garrett said after the game.
Chubb likely suffered multiple torn ligaments, according to NFL.com
On a first-and-goal at the 8-yard line, Chubb took a handoff from quarterback Deshaun Watson, getting hit low at the 4-yard line by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
As he fell to the ground, Chubb’s left knee appeared to bend sideways.
Chubb clutched his knee and writhed in pain, brushing off teammates as they offered to help him up.
The Browns quickly ruled out a return to the game for the star rusher, who previously suffered a dislocated left knee and tore his MCL, PCL and LCL in 2015, his sophomore season at Georgia.
“We feel, obviously, for Nick,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “But I know Nick and his teammates know, and you have to move on.”
“He’s a man of few words who just keeps his head down and he’s always working,” Garrett said. “And that’s the integrity he has for the game. That’s what we hope to have now, especially for him.”
ESPN did not initially show a replay on the “Monday Night Football” broadcast, though play-by-play man Joe Buck relayed that the crowd at Heinz Field audibly gasped upon seeing the play on the video board.
Warning: Graphic content
The Steelers crowd reportedly chanted Chubb’s name as he was taken off the field on the medical cart.
Jerome Ford came on for Chubb at running back and quickly took a three-yard pass from Watson for a touchdown, and then ran in a two-point conversion to make it an 11-7 game in the second quarter.
Fitzpatrick needed attention after the play as well, though he later returned to the game.
In the third quarter, he would be ruled out due to a chest injury.
Chubb had rushed for 64 yards on 10 carries before the injury.
The malady caused an outpouring of reaction from across the NFL, with players expressing concern for Chubb.
“Prayers for Nick Chubb, never want to see that,” Cardinals QB Kyler Murray tweeted.
“Praying for Nick Chubb,” Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson wrote in separate posts.
“Just the worst feeling,” former defensive end JJ Watt tweeted. “Gutted for Nick Chubb. Hope Minkah is ok. Injuries suck man. They absolutely suck.”
