What Browns running back Nick Chubb is thinking about facing the Steelers for the first time since the injury

The injury was so horrific that the telecast refused to show replays. It was the same knee that Chubb injured when he was at Georgia. It required two separate surgeries. It took him 13 months to get back on the field.

The injury was so serious and so shocking that it had a ripple effect on his teammates. The locker room after the game in Pittsburgh felt like a funeral. Players wore Chubb T-shirts and jerseys to games. They dedicated their season to him.

Except you wouldn’t be able to see through all of that if you just asked Chubb what it means to go against an opponent that could bring back some not-so-happy memories.

“It’s just the same normal game for me,” he said, “pushing the same way and looking forward to going out there and playing against a great team.”

Garrett thinks it could be different when Chubb steps onto the field, but he doesn’t see any signs that it will be.

“He maintains the same calm and solemn demeanor,” Garrett said. “When he gets out there, it might be different, but right now he’s cool as a cucumber, as he always is.”

Chubb made his comeback this season against the Bengals on October 20 and scored a touchdown. He has rushed for 163 yards on 53 carries in his four games back.

In New Orleans on Sunday, he had some Chubb-like moments with the football. He rushed 11 times for 50 yards, a 4.5-yard average, and while his second-level burst hasn’t quite shown yet, he was more determined and forceful.

He played just 22 snaps against the Saints, his lowest total since returning, and Stefanski acknowledged Monday that part of the reason for the reduction in workload was because of the quick turnaround for Thursday night — not that Chubb would acknowledge that a short week would have any effect on him and his return to full health.

“Nothing,” he said when asked what the turnaround meant for him physically.

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Chubb and the Browns will face a Steelers team that ranks fifth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game. game on 4.05. For the rest of the season, the Browns will face four of the top five defenses in that category, including a rematch with Baltimore (No. 1) in the season finale as well as games with Kansas City (No. 3) and Denver (No. 4) .

Chubb, for his part, has had success against the Steelers, rushing for 717 yards in 10 games, the second most against any opponent. That includes games of 92, 108 and 113 rushing yards. He was coming off a potentially legendary performance against them last season before the injury, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. carry on 10 rushes in the first 16 minutes of the game.

Starting quarterback Jameis Winston would welcome a strong night from Chubb as he deals with a Steelers team that is adept at putting pressure on the quarterback. In his short time with Chubb, he has seen the type of player and person he is.

“He’s the epitome of a ground and pound running back and he can do some things out of the backfield,” Winston said. “He’s just a great man and we got a chance to understand what helped him become the great man he is with his family and all that. So I’ve been very fortunate to be his teammate.”

Thursday promises to be a night where both teams lean on the ground. Snow is in the forecast and temperatures will be cold – some might call it running weather.

“It’s always got to be running weather,” Chubb said.

Regardless of the conditions, the opponent or where Chubb is physically in his return from last season’s injury, he has one thing in mind: run the football and do whatever he can to help win the game.

“It’s just who I am,” Chubb said. “I mean, it’s a football game. I’m going to go out and play, so no matter who we’re playing or what we’re up against, I’m always in the same mindset.”