In what might go down as one of the NFL’s most memorable weather games, the Cleveland Browns prevailed 24-19 over the Steelers on Thursday Night Football thanks to a last-minute touchdown drive led by Jameis Winston.
In typical AFC North fashion, the game was a grind from start to finish, made more difficult as conditions deteriorated, and players struggled to find their footing in the snow.
With only two wins coming in, the Browns were heavy underdogs against a Steelers team that had just upset the Ravens a week earlier. But in front of a packed Dawg Pound with the defense back to full strength, Kevin Stefanski’s side finally gave fans something to cheer about on their way to snapping a two-game losing skid.
On offense, the snowy conditions forced the Browns to rely heavily on the ground game, and unsurprisingly, Nick Chubb was happy to oblige.
The center of trade rumors all week, Chubb rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns, rumbling over for a two-yard score to put the Browns ahead by five with less than a minute remaining.
Afterwards, Stefanski revealed that a healthy Chubb is key to the team’s success, but also how the four-time Pro Bowler might be his favorite player on the team.
“He’s my favorite player on the team. You can tell everyone knows that. I have a favorite kid too, she’s not here,” Stefanski joked with reporters after the game.
“Nick does the right thing all the time, and to see what he’s gone through to come back. Just to be back playing and back performing when we need him the most, he’s a special player and a great person.”
Still on Injured Reserve, Chubb missed the first six games of the season rehabbing last year’s ACL tear, but is now starting to look like the player who rushed for over 1,500 yards only two seasons ago.
Out of the playoff race but looking to play the role of spoiler going forward, Chubb and the Browns are set for a rematch with the Steelers in two weeks’ time in what might be his final rivalry game against Pittsburgh before he’s inevitably traded.
