Browns HC coach Kevin Stefanski explains why Nick Chubb saw little action in first half

Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb saw very little action in a 26-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, and that left many scratching their head.

Chubb amassed just four first half carries and 12 overall. He averaged an impressive 4.8 yards per carry, so why didn’t Cleveland hitch their wagon to Chubb and ride things out? That’s a fair question.

“He got a little banged up with a rib injury,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game, via CLeveland.com. “He was able to play through it, but he needed some rest.”

Curiously, Stefanski had a different take as the team entered the locker room at halftime. He told ESPN that Chubb was fine physically, which certainly raised some eyebrows. The waters only further muddied with Stefanski’s later claim that Chubb had been injured.

So, was it injury or was it performance and play-calling?

“Yeah, it was a factor in some of those things [the play-calling],” Stefanski said. “I don’t want to overstate that either, though. We just couldn’t sustain drives, staying on the field, those type of things.”

Whatever the case, Chubb was underutilized on Monday night and it cost the Browns in a big way. With the loss, they drop to 7-9 on the season and are now guaranteed to finish the season with a sub-.500 record.