With Nick Chubb set to return, Browns hoping to get some type of offensive boost
The 1-5 Cleveland Browns aren't changing quarterbacks or play callers this week. The NFL 's only team that's yet to reach 20 points or 300 yards in a game has only scored one touchdown in its last 29 possessions and traded away its best and most-targeted wide receiver, Amari Cooper , on Tuesday.
So, where do the Browns go for some hope — and potentially some change? That's hard to say given coach Kevin Stefanski's stubborn insistence on sticking with Deshaun Watson at quarterback , but the Browns return from a three-game road trip this week with at least one notable personnel change in the backfield.
After more than 13 months away, running back Nick Chubb will make his season debut. He needed two surgeries to repair his ACL, MCL and more in his left knee after a hit by Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick last September. Chubb returned to practice earlier this month, and he'll be activated ahead of Sunday's game versus the Cincinnati Bengals .
Chubb, one of the best players of the Browns' new era and one of the NFL's best running backs since entering the league in 2018, said he feels "good" and is "ready to be back to help this team however I can." At 5.3 yards per carry over his career, Chubb ranks only behind Jamaal Charles in highest career average per rush among NFL running backs and has 30 career games of at least 100 rushing yards.
Stefanski said there's no exact number of snaps or touches the Browns have in mind for Chubb at this point, and it would stand to reason that Chubb wouldn't be in line for, say, 20 or 25 opportunities in his first game back. But right now, the Browns are trying to deliver their offense — and fan base — any jolt of confidence or hope.
"I just think with where we are, we need to play sound offensive football to help our team," Stefanski said. "Sound offensive football, we all know what it looks like. It's taking care of the ball. It's being efficient and explosive on first and second down. It's being good in those critical moments. So that will never change. That's the story of football and the guys understand that. When I say multifaceted, I want it to be (like), 'It's all of us.' We all share in this, so we have to coach better, we have to play better."
The Browns didn't get better by trading Cooper, who was clearly unhappy and has struggled with drops this season. Cooper shared the team touchdown lead of two with safety Rodney McLeod , who has scored on a fumble return and the return of a blocked field goal. That's how bleak things have been. Cooper scored both of his touchdowns in a Week 3 loss to the New York Giants . Since then, the team's only offensive touchdowns have been scored by backup tight ends Blake Whiteheart and Jordan Akins . Whiteheart was cut last week and is on the practice squad.
The Browns have the league's worst third-down offense at a conversion rate of 19.2 percent, and a screen pass from Watson to Pierre Strong Jr. in the second half on Sunday stopped a streak of 26 consecutive third-down failures with Watson on the field. Watson moved the Browns inside the Philadelphia Eagles' 5-yard line on what became their final drive on a slant pass to Cooper, but Cleveland then had multiple misses and ultimately had to settle for a field goal after getting two penalties.
Chubb, even, say 80 percent of what we've known him to be, can help the run game. He can help move the chains. He can't help with the false start penalties, inability to throw downfield or the drops that have plagued the Browns. But he can run and wear down defenses. The Browns finally got their run game going Sunday in the second half, and that combined with Chubb's return can provide at least a little optimism.
"We are who we are: a 1-5 team," Chubb said. "Nothing we can do about the past."
The Browns rank 20th at 4.3 yards per rush, and Jerome Ford has averaged a respectable 5.3 yards per carry. Ford won't play this week due to a hamstring injury, which makes any impact from Chubb even more important.
During the open locker room period on Wednesday, Chubb's teammates cheered loudly at the start of his group interview. Chubb almost even cracked a smile.
"Nick is a pretty special football player," Stefanski said. "He's a pretty special person. I think he embodies a lot of what we want to be as Cleveland Browns, and certainly I think our fans feel that from him. And for me, from my chair, I get to watch him work and I get to see the fruits of his labor. And I (got) to peek out of my office window early in the morning and see he was the only one out there running. So, I've gotten to witness this journey, if you will, back to last year and how hard he's worked."
Asked if he thought about what his emotions would be Sunday morning, Chubb said he was only focused on Wednesday's practice. That's an answer Stefanski would love, but the coach's general reluctance to answer anything about why the offense has struggled is only becoming more awkward with each miss by Watson.
Stefanski has insisted that it's his decision to continue to play Watson, who's completing just 61.3 percent of his passes and has yet to reach 200 passing yards in a game this season. Stefanski said earlier in the week that he believes Watson "continues to give us the best chance to win."
With the Browns on a four-game losing streak ahead of their first AFC North game, chances to save the season are few. Maybe Cooper had to go because the Browns believed they couldn't get a better offer, or maybe that trade will be the first in a line of moves that eventually are made with the future in mind. Either way, they have to get better play from their quarterback, offense and all involved Sunday to stop the losing streak.
"I'm always confident," Watson said Wednesday.
We'll see Sunday if the Browns can change the results. And, at least temporarily, the direction of their season.
(Photo: Nick Cammett / )
