According to pro-football-reference.com, Nick Chubb finished tied for fourth in the NFL in broken tackles this season with 21. There is no truth to the rumor half of those came during last week’s 47-yard touchdown run against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

One of the players who missed a shot to bring Chubb down during the first quarter of the Cleveland Browns’ 24-22 win compiled a list of attributes that make Chubb one of the NFL’s best running backs.

“One, he has great vision. Not too many running backs have vision like him,” Steelers All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said. “Two, he’s a strong. He’s very well-built. He has strong legs, a slow center of gravity. He keeps his eyes up. Even when he’s after contact, he keeps his eyes up, keeps his feet moving. And he’s physical with his upper body, as well.”

Fitzpatrick went on to call Chubb “one of the most complete backs across the league.” Statistically, there’s no argument in that. Despite missing a quarter of the season because a knee injury, Chubb finished seventh in the league in rushing yards (1,067) and tied for fourth in rushing touchdowns (12).

He was second in the NFL running backs in yards per carry (5.6) and runs of 20-plus yards (12) and third in runs of at least 40 yards (three).

The most recent of those gave the Browns an early lead they wouldn’t relinquish in the Steelers’ regular-season finale. With the stakes significantly higher in the wild-card playoff round 8:15 p.m. Sunday, the Steelers recognize they can’t afford to allow those types of runs again.

“We needed to minimize Chubb and their run game,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “We gave up too many big runs. A lot he had to do with, particularly the touchdown run. He made two defensive backs miss. He’s capable of that.”

Chubb sure is. According to Pro Football Focus, no runner in the league has a better per-attempt average of yards after contact (4.06). His attempts per broken tackle rate of 9.0 is sixth in the NFL, per pro-football-reference.com.

“We’re preaching that right now: wrap tackle,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said. “We’ve got to wrap tackle.”

Butler has spent 32 seasons in the NFL and has been tasked with containing scores of elite running backs as a player, position coach and coordinator. He believes leg strength is what makes for the best backs, and Chubb has some of the strongest legs he has seen.

“He is hard to get on the ground,” Butler said. “The reason he is hard to get on the ground is he can run through some arm tackles. What are arm tackles? You reach your arm out and try to get him, and he is going to run through that stuff. You’ve got to wrap him up and drive your feet. You can’t let your feet go dead on contact.”

The Cleveland Browns may have found the formula to carry them into the NFL playoffs.Hand the ball to Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. https://t.co/fyUTsAURUC

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) November 16, 2020

As if the challenge of Chubb isn’t difficult enough, the Browns have a second option. Three years after leading the NFL in rushing as a rookie for the Kansas City Chiefs, Kareem Hunt also ranked among the league’s top 15 in yards after contact and broken tackles per attempt.

Hunt had 841 rushing yards, 304 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on 236 touches from scrimmage this season. Hunt had 98 yards from scrimmage in two meetings against the Steelers.

Together, they helped Cleveland finish third in the NFL in rushing at 148.4 yards per game and fifth in rushing touchdowns (21). Against the Steelers, Cleveland averaged 5.1 yards on 53 carries, including 192 yards last week. That was the second most the Steelers allowed all season and fourth consecutive game an opponent topped 100 rushing yards. The swoon dropped the Steelers rush defense to 11th in the league, the first time they were out of the top 10 all season.

“They wear on you,” Steelers defensive co-captain Cameron Heyward said of Chubb and Hunt. “When you have two really good backs like that, you are able to make them interchangeable. Of course, Nick Chubb is the workhorse, but Kareem Hunt is no slouch. Both of those guys are able to get a multitude of plays.

“It’s definitely a tall task when you are asked to stop both of those guys.”

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