It was a great day for the Browns’ rushing attack, as they got running back Nick Chubb and right guard Wyatt Teller back from injuries just in time for their 10-7 win over the Texans. Chubb ran the ball 19 times for 126 yards and a touchdown, and Kareem Hunt carried the rock 19 times for 104 yards against Houston’s leaky run defense.
That gave the Browns a historic day on the ground, per ESPN Stats & Info:
Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are the 1st Browns duo with 100 Rush yards in the same game since 1966.
They are the 5th duo in Browns history to do that overall – each of the previous 4 duos featured at least 1 Hall of Famer. pic.twitter.com/KfVA7L0sgw
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 15, 2020
Not bad at all. But the one run that gained the most praise from Chubb’s teammates and coaches drove bettors and fantasy owners nuts. The Browns were a 3.5-point home favorite, so… whoops. And if you had Chubb on your fantasy team, you were probably throwing a lot of expletives at your television when you saw this.
That's our RB 😤
📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/TNMnLnEb45
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 15, 2020
Yes, that’s Chubb trucking through that Texans defense for 59 yards… and going out of bounds at the Houston one-yard line. What the what?
Well, look at the clock. Chubb was smart enough to run out of bounds with about a minute left in the game, which allowed quarterback Baker Mayfield to kneel down twice, and end the game. If Chubb had scored, any kickoff besides a recovered onside kick would have allowed the Texans an opportunity to tie or win the game.
Per Browns Wire’s Jeff Risdon:
“We told him to get the first (down) and the game’s over, go down,” [head coach Kevin] Stefanski said in his postgame press conference. “We have a code word (no mas) for that and he said, ‘yes sir’.”
“We’re looking for smart, tough dudes and Nick Chubb is that,” Stefanski concluded with a smile.
He certainly is, and with that, the Browns were able to go 6-3 on the season.