“I’m told the replay of Nick Chubb getting injured is not to be seen,” ’s Joe Buck said on the ABC broadcast tonight. In the background just after, you could hear the stadium crowd react to the footage being shown onscreen.
“Yeah, we’re not going to show it. It’s as bad as you can imagine,” replied analyst Troy Aikman.
Chubb, the Cleveland Browns’ star running back, was on a short run near the end zone when he was hit low by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and went down at the 3 yard line. He immediately grabbed his left leg and took off his helmet. You can see the play below, without the gruesome close-up.
Chubb was quickly carted off the field, with Buck reporting cheers for him from the crowd as he left.
For longtime NFL fans, the injury recalled that of Joe Theismann in 1985. As he was tackled, Theismann’s leg was bent in a similarly unnatural way, causing compound fracture of the tibia and fibula. His hall-of-fame career was over.
While times – and sports medicine – have changed, the NFL later announced that Chubb’s season, at least, was over, citing what it termed “a significant knee injury.”
It’s the second potentially season-ending injury in as many weeks on MNF, which last Monday saw the New York Jets’ brand new superstar, Aaron Rodgers, go down four plays into the game.
