AFC Injuries: Bengals, Steelers, and Browns ALL lost their BEST player in Week 2
- The Pittsburgh Steelers put two starters on IR last week and lost their best defender on Monday
- The Cincinnati Bengals will have to choose whether to risk their QB1 health or play their QB2 for a while
- The Baltimore Ravens (2-0) are in sole posession of the AFC North no. 1 seed
Cleveland Browns: RB Nick Chubb (knee)
One thing happened on MNF that tells you all you need to know about Nick Chubb's injury: the broadcast team of ESPN decided not to show the replay of it.
According to an ESPN spokesperson contacted by The Athletic, the decision "was made by the production onsite. “We viewed the replays in our production truck immediately after the play and decided to use discretion out of respect to the viewers and Nick Chubb,” he said.
Chubb suffered a "significant" knee injury, per Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, and he later confirmed that the running back is set to miss the remainder of the season, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Coach Kevin Stefanski confirms that Nick Chubb is done for the season with a significant knee injury. Awful. https://t.co/AiKhJ3kxsR
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 19, 2023
Chubb was removed from the field in the second quarter following a hit delivered by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was also ruled out for the game later (more on him later). Chubb left the game with 64 rushing yards on 10 carries.
In Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, the four-time Pro Bowler carried the ball 18 times for 106 yards already.
There is no sugarcoating this for Browns fans. Yes, the franchise acquired QB Deshawn Watson to lead the team and nobody believes in running backs as the best performers of a football team these days, but Chubb is widely regarded as one of the NFL's premier rushers and the clear no. 1 player of Cleveland.
Last season, Chubb scored 12 touchdowns and racked up a monster 1,525 rushing yards. He will enter his recovery process having recorded 48 rushing touchdowns during his first five NFL seasons to go with four touchdown receptions.
You can't consider the Browns cooked strictly because of this injury, but there is no possible replacement for such an important part of Cleveland's offense available two games into the regular season.