When Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb suffered what ended up being a season-ending knee injury in Week 2, fellow rusher Jerome Ford felt the void his absence created. Chubb was a focal point of the offense after he had come off four consecutive Pro Bowl seasons with at least 1,000 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
But even as Ford inherited the role left behind by Chubb, the Browns re-signed Chubb’s running back from the past four seasons: Kareem Hunt. That decision, according to Ford, was the spark the locker room needed to reengage after the loss of one of its star players.
“When Nick left, it left a gap in the running back room,” Ford told TMZ. “And Kareem came in and – I really don’t know how to explain it other than to say that he brought the juice back.”
The Browns slowly worked Hunt back into action when he rejoined the team in Week 3 before he and Ford effectively split backfield duties over the past five weeks. Over that span, Hunt has rushed 70 times for 228 yards and a team-high six rushing touchdowns. Ford has a team-high 124 rushes for 532 yards and two rushing scores.
More than anything, though, Ford said Hunt came in with an attitude that lightened the mood in the wake of a devastating loss.
“He came in, joking and playing,” Ford said. “And he gave us the juice that we needed to kind of, like, ‘Yeah, Nick’s down, but we gotta keep pushing.'”
The Browns are also 5-2 since Hunt signed and have rushed for at least 100 yards in each of their past five games. They’re squarely in the AFC North and playoff hunt as well, though the divisional rival Pittsburgh Steelers are in the way in Week 11.
