CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Browns rookie running back Nick Chubb struggled to get anything going against the New York Giants in his NFL preseason debut, but that was anything but the case in Friday night’s game against the Buffalo Bills at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Despite the Browns suffering a 19-17 loss, the running game was productive, and Chubb was a big part of that, as he rushed for 53 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries against the Bills.
“Sometimes, your first game, you start pressing a little bit and wanting to do well,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said.
“He had a great week of practice and came out and played well. He did some really nice things. I am dying to see the pass protection part of it. We know he can run the ball. He has to continue to work at the passing game.”
PHOTOS: Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb responds to Week 1 struggles with solid Week 2 showing
During the fourth quarter against the Bills, Chubb finished off a scoring drive the only way he knew how after rushing the offense down to Buffalo’s one-yard line, and that was with a straight-ahead inside run into the end zone.
Chubb’s scoring run and the ensuing extra point gave the Browns a 17-13 lead over the Bills with 12:33 to play in regulation and punctuated a nine-play, 65-yard drive that took 2:59 off of the game clock.
Earlier in the drive, Chubb took a handoff from quarterback Baker Mayfield, hustled through a gap opened up by blocks from the offensive line and sprinted toward the pylon in the left front corner of the end zone. However, Chubb was ruled out inside the one-yard line and was stopped for no gain on the next play.
Then, after having a touchdown pass from Mayfield to wide receiver Derrick Willies overturned on replay, the Browns went back to Chubb and the first-year rusher finished what he started with the scoring run.
“Physical run,” Mayfield said. “He had some great cuts, some quickness. We were not able to see -- he did not have a lot of one-on-ones last week, but (Friday) he did, and he took advantage of those. He played well, and it starts up front.
“We ran the ball better -- first team and second team -- and we just ran the ball better, so that helps our backs. When you have guys like that and you put them in a one-on-one situation with a DB, it is good for us.”
As a team, the Browns rushed for 164 yards and two touchdowns against the Bills, much of which came against the first and second-team defenses, and each of their top three rushers, Carlos Hyde, Duke Johnson Jr. and Chubb had runs of at least 17 yards in the loss.
“We really did not run as much or have an emphasis in the first game,” quarterback Tyrod Taylor said. “We wanted to come out and show that we can run the ball this game.
“We have done a lot of things throughout the week working on different running schemes to get ready for this week. It is more of an attitude. I think guys have done a great job of clearing holes and allowing running backs to go out there and do their thing.”
Stream Live with fuboTV -Try Free Trial
