Can Nick Chubb, home crowd provide Browns with lift to shake off skid? | Takeaways

PHILADELPHIA — Anything can be a motivating factor for a team mired in a skid like the Browns. Of course, what they're clinging to, they hope, does more for them than just motivate.

Cleveland wrapped up a three-game road swing Sunday with a 20-16 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles. It was the team's fourth consecutive loss, dropping it to 1-5 for the season.

So what's the potential light at the end of the tunnel? Call it a Batman signal in the air.

Running back Nick Chubb, who's spent the last two weeks practicing for the first time since suffering a knee injury last year, is expected to play next Sunday when the Browns play host to the Cincinnati Bengals. It's the kind of shot in the arm any team could ask for, a multi-time Pro Bowl running back finally getting a chance to play for the first time in more than a year.

"Day is darkest before the dawn," Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said Sunday after the loss. "We got a great one coming back hopefully next week, and he's going to help turn this thing around. We're going to continue to find ways to win. Right now we're very close. Got to find a way to close these games out. We're putting ourselves in a position. We just got to take that next step."

Chubb has been the heart and soul of the Browns since he emerged over the second half of his rookie season in 2018. The night in Pittsburgh in Week 2 of last season when he suffered the season-ending knee injury left a pall over his teammates.

The question remains how much Chubb can help lift the pall that hangs over the team six games into the season. What version of him are the Browns getting after he had his second surgery on the knee since 2015?

There's no doubting the emotional lift Chubb will provide.

"Yeah, I mean, getting back in front of our home fans and being in front of our guys, especially with Nick out there," Garrett said. "He's going to get a hell of applause when he comes onto the field for the first time in a while. That's a spark in itself. We got to continue to carry that momentum, not only through that game but through the rest of the season.

"He's going to do what he does, and he's going to be a dynamic force. We've got to be able to uplift him and play complementary football."

Cleveland Browns emphasize running game in second half vs. Eagles

Part of the Browns' second-half improvement offensively, even if it didn't result in touchdowns, started on the ground. Cleveland made an effort to run the ball more after halftime, and it provided some help.

The Browns rushed for 56 yards on 15 second-half carries. That was after gaining 44 yards on 10 carries in the first half.

"I thought we tried to run the ball a little bit more," left guard Joel Bitonio said. "We had an emphasis on some under-center zone runs this week. We did a decent job in that. We just keep self-inflicting ourselves, so the hold on the power, a couple of false starts just kill our momentum. We're not playing well enough to overcome those things, so we got to find a way to do that. But I did think we did a little bit better trying to run the ball this week."

The move worked by helping make the Eagles defense have to respect the run more. They weren't necessarily pinning their ears back and going after quarterback Deshaun Watson as much.

Watson was 11-of-12 passing for 122 yards in the second half.

"That's what we have to do this with the offense," Watson said. "You’ve got to be balanced. You’ve got to have them play honest to the run game, and you can see in the second half it kind of opened up play-action, different things like that. And also it opens up the checkdowns and it don't put so much stress on the O-line necessarily."

Greg Newsome II involved in Philadelphia Eagles' 2 biggest pass plays

The Eagles' two biggest pass plays had one thing in common — cornerback Greg Newsome II was in the middle of both of them.

Newsome was covering Eagles wide receiver DaVonte Smith in the slot when Smith caught a crossing pattern he turned into a 45-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up 20-13 with 7:54 remaining. Newsome appeared to get caught in the wash of another Eagles receiver coming from the other direction, which provided Smith with the space he needed.

"I think they did a great job on offense as well, man IDing us, and they ran a great concept," Newsome said. "I just got to find a way to try to get through and make that play, but that's kudos to them."

The final one was the nail in the Browns' coffin. Coming out of the two-minute warning, the Eagles had first down at their own 48.

However, instead of running it, quarterback Jalen Hurts threw a go route to wide receiver A.J. Brown, who beat Newsome for a gain of 40. Philadelphia then kneeled it out three times to end the game.

"Made a great catch," Newsome said of Smith's catch. "A 50-50 ball. Came down with it. I like myself in a majority of those situations. I feel like I'll make a majority of those plays, but he got a catch on it."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Can Nick Chubb, home crowd provide Browns with lift to shake off skid? | Takeaways