Falcons Have 'Got to Stop' RB Nick Chubb in Order to Win Sunday vs. Browns

The Atlanta Falcons are expecting to play a physical football game Sunday against Nick Chubb and the Cleveland Browns. Chubb leads the NFL in rushing through three weeks.

Jeremy Brener | Sep 29, 2022

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The Atlanta Falcons have prided themselves on running the football this season. Their 156.7 rushing yards per game ranks fifth in the NFL and Cordarrelle Patterson, last week's NFC Offensive Player of the Week, sits second on the leaderboard for total rushing yards.

Who ranks first in that category? The Cleveland Browns and Nick Chubb, who will be on the opposite sideline against the Falcons on Sunday. Head coach Arthur Smith says the team will be ready for the challenge.

"It'll be a really physical game on Sunday," Smith said. "They're going to try to run Nick Chubb 500 times, and we've got to stop him."

One of the players who will be tasked primarily with stopping Chubb and the Cleveland rushing attack is defensive lineman Grady Jarrett, who has improved tremendously this season after a rough 2021 campaign. However, Jarrett believes there is room for improvement.

"(The Seahawks) got a little too much on the ground," Jarrett said after last week's game. "We've got to be better, definitely, across the board against the run."

The Falcons are tied for 15th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game with 109.3. Last week, the team allowed 112 yards to a backfield led by Rashaad Penny. While Penny is a decent running back, Chubb and the Browns backfield presents a whole new challenge, and the Falcons will have to prioritize defending a run if they want to win their second straight game.

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Published Sep 29, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.