Cleveland Browns: Studs and duds vs. Patriots in Week 8

By Randy Gurzi | Oct 28, 2019

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 27: Running back Nick Chubb #24 of the Cleveland Browns fumbles as he is hit by defensive tackle Lawrence Guy #93 of the New England Patriots in the first quarter of the game at Gillette Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images) /

3 of 4

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 27: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots looks to pass during the third quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /

Stud: Olivier Vernon

Added in an offseason trade with the New York Giants, Olivier Vernon has had a slower start to the season than expected. He hasn’t been bad by any means, but he hasn’t put up the sack totals he’s capable of. On Sunday, he made some progress in that regard as he was constantly in the backfield harassing Tom Brady and the Patriots offense.

He finished the game with six tackles, two for a loss, and one sack. That was incredible considering he had just 15 tackles and a sack in his first six games with the Browns. Hopefully, this opened things up for him going forward and we can start to see No. 54 become a great pass rusher opposite Myles Garrett.

Dud: Nick Chubb

Looking at his numbers, Nick Chubb looks like quite the stud. He had 20 carries on the day for 131 yards with a long of 44. That’s an average of 6.55 yards per rush, which is above the 5.3 average he had entering the game. However, Chubb also made two costly mistakes which are surely the only things someone as competitive as he is will remember from this one.

Chubb’s first two touches of the day ended in disaster. The first rushing attempt resulted in a New England touchdown as the ball was kicked out of his hands by Joel Bitonio as he was falling to the ground in a pile. That one was scooped up by Dont’a Hightower, who ran 26-yards for a score.

On the following possession, Chubb took the handoff and rumbled for an impressive 44-yard gain — but that one also ended poorly as he was stripped of the ball by defensive back Jonathan Jones. Those two fumbles were huge in the 14-point loss at the hands of New England.

Home/Cleveland Browns