The Cleveland Browns face-off with the Cincinnati Bengals in the final week of the season. For the first time ever, that will be Week 18 and not Week 17. Based on the results of Week 16’s games, the Browns and Bengals could be competing for the AFC North crown.
For that to happen, Cleveland would have to beat Pittsburgh, Cincinnati would have to lose to Kansas City and Baltimore would have to lose to Los Angeles (or lose the following week to Pittsburgh).
The division crown may not be the only thing up for grabs in Week 18. Browns running back Nick Chubb and Bengals running back Joe Mixon currently sit second and third in rushing yards in the NFL. Barring something unforeseen, Jonathan Taylor will grab the rushing title as he has an almost 500 yard lead with two weeks remaining.
Mixon and Chubb are separated by just 16 yards with the Cincinnati back having the slim lead. Mixon has also played in three more games than Chubb, racking up 73 more carries.
Chubb’s 5.5 yards per carry average, which was significantly impacted by back-to-back games against the Ravens, is tied with Taylor among backs with 150 or more carries on the year.
Both Mixon and Chubb are important parts of their teams’ offenses but the Browns rely more on their running back than the Bengals. For Cleveland to meet their playoff goal, their lead back would likely need to outgain Mixon especially in Week 18.