CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb had some demons to exorcise after last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams at FirstEnergy Stadium and he took out those frustrations on the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore Sunday.
With the memory of being stopped on fourth-and-nine in the second half 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’ 40-25 victory over the Ravens, which put them into first place in the AFC North Division after the first quarter of the 2019 season.
“That’s what I try to be. I do what I can to help us win,” Chubb said. “I showed a little bit more determination. I wasn’t going to let anyone attack me. Honestly, I had nightmares last week. When I got hit on fourth-and-nine with a one-man tackle, that kind of drove me this week to not let anyone tackle me.”
The Browns had an answer for Lamar Jackson’s touchdown pass, and it came in the form of an 88-yard scoring run from Chubb early in the fourth quarter.
On first-and-15 from the Cleveland 12-yard line after a false start penalty against tight end Demetrius Harris, Chubb caught a pitch from quarterback Baker Mayfield, hustled through a hole created by the right side of the line and tight end Pharaoh Brown and raced 88 yards untouched for the touchdown.
Although the Browns failed to convert the two-point attempt, they held a 30-18 lead over the Ravens with 9:35 to play in regulation.
“It was pretty wide open,” Chubb said. “The O-line did a great job of opening it up for me. Great toss by Baker. The tight ends -- they blocked it well. I got into the open field. It was a great run.”
After Baltimore kicker Justin Tucker evened the score at 10-10 early in the third quarter, Chubb capped off the ensuing drive with a 14-yard touchdown run that started with him running right and cutting back all the way across the field to the end zone and faking out several defenders on the run.
The Browns continued feeding the ball to Chubb, and he constantly moved the offense across the goal line.
Later, Chubb capped off an eight-play, 84-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run behind left tackle Greg Robinson, which gave the Browns a 24-10 lead over the Ravens with 53 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
“I was just rolling and made a play,” Chubb said. “I broke some tackles, but it starts with the O-line. They’ve been doing a great job, so I have to finish the run and get in the end zone.”
Chubb senses Sunday could be a big day for the Browns, and he is very much looking forward to building on the successes as the season continues.
“We had a great week of practice,” Chubb said. “It starts with that. The whole week, we were getting better, making plays. I knew we were getting closer. And we just had to come out and show that we are a good team. I think everyone played well.
“We knew we had to get better. We had to play better and that was just our mindset. Put our heads down and grind and work the whole week and put it all together on Sunday. And we did that, and everyone played well -- offense, defense, special teams -- it was a great team win.”