BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb took the blame for Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets, saying he should’ve gone down instead of scoring in the final two minutes.
Chubb’s 12-yard touchdown run with 1:55 to play put the Browns up 30-17. Rookie kicker Cade York then missed the extra point. But with the Jets already out of timeouts, the Browns could’ve kneeled and ended the game there had Chubb not scored.
Instead, the Jets became the first team in 21 years to overcome a 13-point deficit in the last two minutes of game.
“Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have scored right there,” Chubb said Tuesday. “Honestly looking back at it, it cost us the game. A lot of things went wrong, not just one thing. But collectively as a unit, as a team, we could’ve all done things different. But it’s only a problem because we didn’t win. So I probably should’ve went down.”
After Chubb’s touchdown, the Jets answered on the second play of the ensuing drive. Quarterback Joe Flacco found Corey Davis wide open down the sideline for a 66-yard touchdown.
The Jets then recovered the onside kick, and Flacco quickly drove New York down the field again, capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson to put the Jets up 31-30 with 22 seconds remaining.
“At the end of the day, I’ve been in that situation before and so I really can’t put it on anyone but myself at this point,” said Chubb, who rushed for 87 yards and three touchdowns against New York. “I think the biggest thing is I was aware of what was going on and I thought the game was over, if I’m being honest.”
Two years ago, Chubb stepped out of bounds at the 1-yard line after a 59-yard yard run in the final seconds against the Houston Texans. The Browns kneeled with the ball to secure the 10-7 victory.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said he made a mistake by not telling Chubb to go down again Sunday.
“That’s something that’s my responsibility to communicate to that huddle,” Stefanski said. “Putting yourself up potentially 14 points inside of two minutes, you should close out that game. Yes, I wish I had said that to Nick and Nick would’ve done it.
“But it does not change the fact that we had plenty of opportunities to win that game.”