Nick Chubb scored a massive touchdown for his fantasy managers when he crashed into the end zone to give his Cleveland Browns a 30-17 lead over the New York Jets with just 1:55 left in their Week 2 showdown. And, somehow, he managed to doom his Browns to a loss in the process.
Chubb broke a handoff to the outside and eluded the New York defense en route to what appeared to be a game-icing touchdown. But his score only gave the Jets flickering brief hope late in a bonkers game. Taking a knee at the one-yard line would have been a tough ask given his momentum, but it also would have given Cleveland the leverage to run down the clock on a New York team that was out of time outs.
their families are watching, Nick! 🫣
📺: #NYJvsCLE on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/5tBLYXUhpL pic.twitter.com/EgWvcD2da0— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 18, 2022
Instead, he did the thing he’s supposed to do on every other handoff he’s ever taken — score a touchdown. While this pushed his fantasy point total to a tasty 32.3 (in PPR leagues) it also set his team up for a devastating loss. Cade York’s extra point missed wide right, and suddenly the Browns’ win probability slipped from 99.8 to 99.8 percent.
New York got the ball back with 1:55 to play. That’s when Joe Flacco — Joe Flacco, the 37-year-old backup — took over. It took him two plays to cut the lead to 30-24, capped by a 65-yard heave to an inexplicably wide open Corey Davis:
Quick strike.@TheCDavis84 | #NYJvsCLE on CBS pic.twitter.com/wchzBWVFYX
— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 18, 2022
After recovering the onside kick, Flacco covered 53 yards in 60 seconds to take the lead. One Jacoby Brissett interception later, this game was over.
Which, of course, it could have been minutes earlier had Chubb simply taken a knee at the one-yard line and settled for a 24-17 victory. Instead, Cleveland fell to 1-1 and had its dream of the franchise’s first 2-0 start since being rebooted in 1999 dashed in an incredibly Browns way in the process.
