Browns: 3 players who need to step up against the Chiefs

Nick Chubb

Asking Nick Chubb to step up this year hasn’t really been a mandate. He may have made one of these lists but usually, this has been reserved for people with something to prove, and that hasn’t been Chubb. We know he’s great. He may not have the known versatility of Alvin Kamara, Saquon Barkley, or Christian McCaffrey but Chubb is the best pure runner in the game, and on Derrick Henry, we don’t acknowledge fake kings here.

Yet, for Chubb, the challenge on Sunday will be for him to be good enough to move the chains, while also able to kill the clock and keep Patrick Mahomes off the field.

The Browns will need to rely a lot on short offensive plays like slants, screen-plays, and handoffs throughout the early portion of the game. Use the offense to keep the Chiefs off the field and their stars then can’t put points on the board.

A lot of that is going to fall on Chubb to balance breaking off big games while also doing just enough to stay on the field while making moves. This is traditionally how this year’s team has won games against high-powered offenses; keep them off the field, score, and then put the pressure on them to keep up.

Since the Chiefs are going to air it out far more often than the Browns, the opportunity for an error to occur will be a lot higher than if they ran the ball. Not that it’ll be easy to put pressure on Mahomes physically or mentally but if you can it’ll be by making him match the Browns beat for beat.