As the Browns were preparing to face the Steelers a couple of weeks ago, he said that it was the “same, normal game” for him despite facing the same team the Browns were playing when Chubb suffered his season-ending knee injury in Week Two last year.
The Browns and Steelers are facing off again this week, but Chubb’s mindset is a little bit different. The first game between the teams was in Cleveland and this Sunday’s matchup will be in Pittsburgh, which is where the teams were playing when Chubb was injured.
Chubb said this week that he would “be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it going back to that place where it happened last year.”
“That’s pretty much it,” Chubb said, via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal. “Just going back there and knowing how it was last year, I mean, last time I played there, everything that happened and just being grateful that I’m able to run and play and play football again and move around. And I think more just the gratitude aspect of me being back there and being healthy.”
Chubb hasn’t quite regained his pre-injury form since returning in mid-October, but he did score twice in the win over the Steelers two weeks ago.
The Bengals got left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. back in the lineup last Sunday and he played every offensive snap of their loss to the Steelers, but it appears he suffered a physical setback.
Brown had missed the previous three games with a fibula injury and head coach Zac Taylor told reporters on Thursday that Brown is considered doubtful for Monday nigth’s game against the Cowboys.
Cody Ford started in place of Brown in the three games he missed and got the start at left guard against the Steelers. Cordell Volson started at that spot when Brown was out, so that may be the alignment again on Monday.
Taylor also confirmed that the Bengals expect linebacker Logan Wilson to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
The Cardinals defense got first-round pick Darius Robinson on the field for the first time this season in Week 13 and the defensive lineman might not be the only member of the draft class who returns to action in the final weeks of the regular season.
The team announced on Thursday that cornerback Elijah Jones has been designated for return from injured reserve.
Jones has been out since injuring his heel in August and Thursday’s move will allow him to practice with the team through December 26 before a decision must be made about activating him. The Cardinals would have games against the Rams and 49ers left on the schedule at that point.
Jones appeared in 60 games during his time at Boston College and had five interceptions during his final collegiate season.
Cornerback Cory Trice is back on the 53-man roster in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers announced on Thursday that Trice has been activated from injured reserve. Trice has been out of action since injuring his hamstring in the third game of the season.
Trice had two tackles and an interception before his injury. Those were the first three regular appearances of the 2023 seventh-round pick’s career as he spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve.
The Steelers did not have to make a corresponding roster move on Thursday. They waived running back Jonathan Ward on Wednesday, so there was already an open spot for Trice.
Former Chiefs and Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s move to the college coaching ranks has come to an end.
Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reports that Bieniemy is out after one season as the offensive coordinator at UCLA. The Bruins averaged 18.4 points per game in their first Big Ten season.
Bieniemy ran the Chiefs’ offense from 2018 to 2022 and then moved to the Commanders for the 2023 season. It was thought that the move could help Bieniemy’s chances of becoming a head coach because he would call offensive plays working for Ron Rivera, but the Commanders went 4-13 and the coaching staff was dismissed.
Head coach Andy Reid still calls the plays for the Chiefs, but the offense hasn’t been as effective as it was with Bieniemy on the staff. Now that he’s out of a job, the Chiefs could contact Bieniemy about a possible return.
Cowboys right guard Zack Martin’s 2024 season is over.
Head coach Mike McCarthy announced on Thursday that Martin will have surgery on the ankle injury that sidelined him in the team’s last two games. Martin will now miss the team’s five remaining games of this season and move into an uncertain football future.
Martin is in the final year of his contract and he said in June that retirement was in the realm of possibilities after the 2024 season. The work needed to recover from season-ending ankle surgery will likely factor into any decision on that front.
If he is done, Martin will go down as one of the most accomplished offensive linemen of any era. He was voted a first-team All-Pro seven times in his first 10 seasons with the Cowboys and season No. 11 will mark only the second time that he didn’t start at least 14 of the team’s games.
The Rams have gotten strong production out of their top two draft picks in 2024 and now both of them have won a rookie award.
Defensive end Braden Fiske has been named the league’s defensive rookie of the month for November.
Fiske led all rookies with 5.0 sacks and six tackles for loss in November. He was the only player int he league with at least two TFLs in three games. His 5.0 sacks ranked No. 2 among all NFC players last month.
Through 12 games, Fiske has recorded 6.0 sacks with eight tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
Los Angeles’ first-round pick, Jared Verse, was the league’s defensive rookie of the month for September.
Fiske and the Rams’ defense will have a tough task in Week 14 as they’ll host the Bills on Sunday afternoon.
It hasn’t taken Raiders tight end Brock Bowers long to become the best in the NFL at what he does. And he’s being recognized for that.
Bowers was named the NFL’s offensive rookie of the month for November, a month in which he led all rookies in receiving yards (349), receptions (32), receiving yards per game (87.3) and receiving touchdowns (three).
Bowers’ 13-catch game on November 17 against the Dolphins gave him the most catches in NFL history for a rookie tight end. He’s just the third rookie in NFL history with three 10-catch games, joining Odell Beckham and Jaylen Waddle.
As the NFL leader in both catches and receiving yards for a tight end, Bowers has a good chance of being named a first-team All-Pro, an impressive achievement for a rookie who looks like he has a very bright future ahead of him.
Lions kicker Jake Bates’s first season in the NFL got off to a good start and his strong play continued into November.
Bates has been named the NFC’s special teams player of the month in recognition of his work with the NFC North leaders. Bates has won two special teams player of the week awards as well.
Bates made all 17 extra points he tried in the Lions’ five November wins. He was also 8-of-9 on field goals and 4-of-4 on field goals of at least 50 yards. One of those 50-yarders came on the last play of the team’s 23-20 win over the Texans.
Bates is now 19-of-20 on field goals and 44-of-45 on extra points for the season.
It’s been a rough year for many kickers, but Miami’s Jason Sanders had no issues in November.
He’s now been named AFC special teams player of the month.
Sanders was the only rider to make 100 percent of his kicks with at least 10 field-goal attempts and 10 point-after attempts in November. He also hit three field goals of at least 50 yards.
Sanders led the league with 43 points in November.
This is Sanders’ fourth career player of the month award. It’s the first time he’s won it since 2020.
Still with an outside shot at making the postseason, the 5-7 Dolphins will host the 3-9 Jets on Sunday.
