CLEVELAND — The Browns entered Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans with a mission: play for Nick Chubb. With Jerome Ford at the helm of the run game and Kareem Hunt there behind him, they did just that.
For the third week in a row, the Browns defense was dominant. Defensive end Myles Garrett led the disruptive charge, racking up an impressive 3.5 sacks with five QB hits. He was joined in the effort by his entire defense, which notched nine tackles for loss, four passes defended and eight QB hits.
Seeing the defense continue to shine was not much of a surprise. The question mark entering Sunday's game was the offense. After losing Chubb in the Monday night game against the Steelers to a season-ending knee injury, how the Browns would move forward without the offense star remained to be seen.
Throughout the week of practice leading up to the game, Chubb's teammates sang Chubb's praises and gave an outpouring of support to their running back.
"Talk about a dude that comes to work every day, put his hard hat on, go to work. He’s the model Cleveland Brown. Heart goes out to him and his family. It’s the second time having a crazy injury like that. He’s a model teammate and best back in the league, for I don’t know how many years now. But he’s one of the hardest workers I know, the most humble guy ever. So he’ll be back for vengeance next year, I’m sure. Shoutout to Chubb, man, the team is with you,” safety Grant Delpit said Thursday.
The players vowed to play for Chubb, in games and in practice, moving forward this season, looking to win in his honor. Hunt entered the stadium Sunday morning wearing a Chubb shirt. The game started with a scoreboard video, pledging the outing to Chubb.
2nd half starts NOW!!
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 24, 2023
let's do this for 🦇 pic.twitter.com/MzadOHh6ar
What started a bit rocky for the offense quickly turned around. The Browns didn't have a ton of yards on the ground, but the active running backs were able to use their versatility to help give the offense a boost.
Ford rushed for 18 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown. He also showed up in the passing game, notching two catches for 33 yards and another score.
"We wanted it real bad. And with Nick going down, everybody felt a little more sense of urgency to play for him," Ford said.
Hunt ran for 13 yards on five carries with two catches for 22 yards. Though fans were missing Chubb, having Hunt back was a boost for morale within the crowd. As he took the field for the first time Sunday, Hunt came out to a roaring crowd.
"It felt good, put a little pressure on me, I thought, ‘I might have to do something sweet now, dang.’ No, but that’s a cool deal. I love Cleveland, and I guess Cleveland loves me," Hunt laughed.
Hunt talked about his love for Cleveland, but also showed the love he has for his friend and teammate, Chubb.
Hunt entered the stadium Sunday wearing a Chubb shirt, showing support before dedicating the game to him.
"We did it for him. Nick is a brother. Everybody wanted to win this for him, too, and we definitely miss him out there, the person and the teammate, the player he is," Hunt said.
Having Hunt and Ford keep the run game moving Sunday was something the team expected. Linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. said winning games will come down to more of that.
“We knew that was going to happen. Kareem is Cleveland through and through. Jerome –just getting his feet wet. Touching the ball and a great route catching the touchdown. He’s going to continue to get better and make plays. We’re going to need everybody, and we understand that. That whole room, even Pierre (Strong Jr.). We’re going to need everybody," Walker said. "Nick Chubb is one of a kind. To fill those shoes, you’re going to need everybody, and they understand that.”
As the Browns move forward through the season, they've vowed to keep playing for Chubb.
It may have been a coincidence that the Browns' 27-3 game against the Titans was won by 24 points, Chubb's number. What wasn't a coincidence was how the team rallied for him. And while Chubb wasn't able to play Sunday, he was far from forgotten—as the team gave Chubb one of their game balls.
"We need each other. The guy that we don't have here right this minute with us, but he's always with us, is No. 24. He's getting this game ball because he's so important to this team," head coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game. "This offense, this defense, this special team. This team. No. 24 means so much to us, I'm going to hand him this ball, and he's with us the rest of the way."
