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Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending injury against the Steelers.
The Pittsburgh Steelers topped the Cleveland Browns 26-22 on Monday night but much of the postgame conversation was about superstar running back Nick Chubb, who exited the game with a serious knee injury.
Chubb is expected to miss the rest of the season with torn ligaments in his knee, per multiple reports. He was carted off the field to start the second quarter after taking a hit.
The Steelers and Browns are bitter rivals but Pittsburgh skipper Mike Tomlin — who showed a lot of respect for Chubb before the game — sent his well-wishes to the Chubb.
“Can’t say enough about Nick Chubb, man. Sending our best to him,” Tomlin said in his postgame press conference. “Got a lot of respect for that guy.”
The Pittsburgh crowd also showed Chubb some love on the way out of the stadium, chanting his name as he was carted off the field.
Minkah Fitzpatrick Ripped for Cheap Shot on Browns RB Nick Chubb
While Tomlin said all the right things, there was discourse online following the injury regarding the hit from Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Many dubbed the low hit to Chubb’s knee a cheap shot.
“I believe Minkah Fitzpatrick’s hit on Chubb was dirty and reckless. I don’t believe it was a ‘football’ play, a ‘bang bang’ play, or ‘guys just competing.’ Or any cliche people use when someone gets injured. Dirty and reckless,” one commenter wrote.
Others called for Fitzpatrick to be suspended for the hit.
“If Minkah Fitzpatrick isn’t suspended, this league is a joke,” another commenter tweeted.
Fitzpatrick was also injured on the play and was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated for a chest injury.
As for Chubb’s injury, the video replay was so gruesome that the ESPN telecast chose not to show a replay of what happened. It was shown in the stadium and audible gasps could be heard from the crowd.
Browns Don’t Want Nick Chubb Injury to be ‘In Vain’
The Browns offense will now have to find its footing without its best weapon. It’s the second serious knee injury for Chubb, who also had major surgery during college while at Georgia.
“Tough. I mean, I send all my prayers to him,” Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson said after the game. “At that moment it was tough. Once we saw the replay and exactly what happened, a lot of flashbacks to the previous one he had in college. It was tough.”
The Browns fell to 1-1 with the loss to the Steelers and will have to keep pace in a very competitive AFC North. Defensive end Myles Garrett knows it won’t be easy without Chubb in the backfield but doesn’t want his running back’s sacrifice to be in vain.
“F**cking hurts,” Garrett said. “That’s our brother, my brother. We’ve been together for a long time. It’s a blow for our whole team. We don’t want his injury to be in vain. That’s what he would want us to do. We have to continue to fight.”
The Browns will look to get on track next week against the Tennessee Titans.
J.R. DeGroote covers the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com. He covered local and statewide sports as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and has decades of experience in digital media with previous stops at SB Nation and Bleacher Report. He has won multiple state, regional and national honors for sports reporting and photography. More about J.R. DeGroote
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