Nick Chubb is among 3 Cleveland Browns with declining stock

Nick Chubb and the Cleveland Browns looked awful against the Buffalo Bills

The Cleveland Browns all but saw their playoff hopes get dusted on Sunday. As if Josh Allen was Thanos himself, a simple snap of his fingers ruined the Browns’ chances at mounting a comeback. Sure, the Browns aren’t mathematically eliminated but in order to get to the playoffs, they’re going to need a lot of help getting there.

The game shouldn’t have been as one-sided as it was either, but Nick Chubb just could not get going. It’s not even an issue of losing Ethan Pocic, as Kareem Hunt and Jacoby Brissett were both able to gain yards rushing the ball. Yet Chubb? Nothing.

The Browns’ defense also fell apart, but outside of putting “the entire unit”, there’s no reason to really go into details about how most of them failed on Sunday.

Three Cleveland Browns with declining stock

Nick Chubb

It’s odd putting Nick Chubb here. He’s been the standard bearer all year, and now he just went cold in the game the team needed the most. The Browns didn’t have great o-line play all game, admittedly, but they were able to move the ball with Kareem Hunt in the game, and they were running similar plays, so what happened? Why did Hunt move the needle when Chubb couldn’t?

Pharaoh Brown

The Browns brought back Pharaoh Brown due to his blocking skills, and they’re ok at best. So why he was getting targeted in a game where David Njoku is healthy is beyond me. He had an easy catch in the endzone that just didn’t happen. All the while, Austin Hooper had two touchdowns this week. We really swapped Hooper for Brown.

Hjalte Froholdt

It’s rough to see Hjalte Froholdt struggle at center. He had some good run-blocking moments, obviously, look at Hunt’s day, but he was awful in pass protection. I don’t think Pocic would’ve made a difference there, as he struggles in that area too, so it’s very likely the outcome of this game would’ve been very similar. Plus, this team was a juggernaut on the opening drive. Clearly it’s less of a talent issue and more of a Kevin Stefanski-can’t-adjust-issue.