Browns Star Shares Thoughts On Matchup With Steelers After Major Injury

Nick Chubb will face off with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the first time since suffering a season-ending knee injury against them last season

Nov 3, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb (24) runs the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers during the third quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

It's been 429 days since Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb was carted off the field with a season-ending knee injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

At the time, as Chubb has since admitted, he wasn't even sure if he'd ever play football again. Thankfully, he's back, returning earlier this season for Cleveland after more than a year of rehab from multiple reconstructive surgeries.

Being the biggest rival of the Browns, a matchup with Pittsburgh always comes with a little more juice. Despite what transpired against the Steelers last year though, Chubb isn't carrying any extra emotion into Thursday Night.

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"It's just the same normal game for me," siad Chubb. "Pushing the same way and looking forward to going out there and playing against a great team.”

At this point no one should expect anything less from the four-time Pro Bowler. Chubb has become a fan favorite, largely because of his subdued demeanor and his "all about business" mentality. Winning is all he's worried about.

“That's just who I am. I mean it's a football game," Chubb said. "I got to go out there and play, so no matter who we're playing or what we're up against, I'm always in the same mindset.”

What's true about Chubb is that persona is real. While some players may present themselves differently in press conference settings than they would while interacting with their teammates, with Chubb most of what you see, is what you get.

Star pass rusher Myles Garrett confirmed that this week.

"Nick’s not very emotional in general," Garrett said. "He keeps that same calm and solemn demeanor, so when he gets out there it could be different. But right now he's cool as a cucumber as he always is."

Whille Chubb may keep his emotions in check, the feeling of seeing him carted off the field at Acrisure Stadium still makes for an emotional memory for some of his teammates.

Veteran guard Joel Bitonio remembers all to well the surreal energy that swarmed the team on that faithful Monday night in September.

You talk about what it takes to be a great teammate and I think he has all those qualities," Bitonio said of the 2018 second-round pick. "He's a friend and you never want to see a guy go down, so that stuff hurt, especially the injury it was. It was emotional for sure, but I'm excited that he's back playing."

Bitonio has blocked for Chubb long enough to know how he's approaching Thursday night though, regardless of the eerie circumstances that surround this particularly showdown with the Steelers.

"I think he's so calm about it and so straightforward that you don't even realize what he came back from," Bitonio said. "The injury was so severe, he had that injury before, to come back from it twice is super impressive, but he's ready to go. He'll just treat it like another game."

As fate would have it, the whether on Thursday night is expected to reach the mid-30s and feature a "wintry mix" of rain and potentially snow. It's perfect whether for AFC North Football, and the type of forecast that could make Chubb an important part of Cleveland's game plan.

In Chubb's mind, every weather is football weather. He just wants to help the Browns win a football game. And even though he's keeping emotions out of it, it's not lost of him what a win over the Steelers means for this franchise, even in the midst of a 2-8 season.

“Hopefully it will help some, but we dug a surfing in the hole here, so I mean any win will help," he said. "But definitely just for the city of Cleveland we definitely would like to get this one.”