CLEVELAND — Nick Chubb does not say much on the football field, just goes about his business and returns to the huddle or the sideline after every play.
It is the simple approach that has the second-year rusher among the favorites within the Cleveland Browns’ locker room and why his teammates both relish in his success, and also, enjoy clearing the way for him to get into the second and third levels of opposing defenses.
“Quiet, hard-working, great guy,” Browns left guard Joel Bitonio said. “If those are the things you haven’t seen, that’s pretty much it. Honestly, I don’t know. I think Freddie said it the other day. He’s the guy you want to have on your football team, the perfect guy.
“Always works hard, always keeps to himself, always gives credit to people even when he’s the guy making the plays. It’s impressive and I think it’s his upbringing and the person he is, on and off the field. I don’t know if you guys watched it, but his mic’d up thing, that’s pretty much who he is. A quiet guy, runs hard and does his part.”
Disappointed in himself after a Sunday Night Football loss to the Los Angeles Rams at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 22, Chubb took out those frustrations on the Baltimore Ravens.
With the memory of being stopped on fourth-and-nine in the second half against the Rams still fresh in his mind, Chubb rushed for 165 yards and three touchdowns, including two third-quarter scores and an 88-yard scamper in the fourth quarter that helped seal the Browns’ 15-point victory and their highest point total in the 21-year history of the rivalry with Baltimore.
People took notice of Chubb’s performance, as he was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday morning and the FedEx Ground Player of the Week Thursday, but he shared all of the credit with the offensive line.
“Last year, when he broke two against Oakland, we blocked the play probably the worst you could block the play,” Bitonio said. “I don’t think we blocked anybody and he scored a touchdown, and he’s like, ‘The O-line did all the work there,’ and I was like, ‘Ehhhhhhh, not on that one.’
“You appreciate it. He’s giving you the credit and that’s the guys you love to block for. He tries hard. He respects you. He’s going to break a tackle for you and that’s the guy you like to have behind you on the line.”
On a mic’d up segment in an episode of Building the Browns, Chubb did not have much to say, but to those who know him best within the locker room understand that he is focused on a mission to help the team win games.
“The funny thing is he didn’t tell anybody he was mic’d up,” Bitonio said. “Usually, it’s an unwritten rule to be like, ‘Hey, I’m mic’d up this week, don’t say anything dumb.’ I don’t think anybody ever says anything dumb to him. He was just who he was.”
Quarterback Baker Mayfield added, “He is just an all-around [good] guy. He puts his head down and goes to work. You have to talk to him and dig to get information and get a couple of words out. He is a great guy overall. He really just cares about winning, and he is a great teammate.”