Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb was carted off the field Monday night after suffering a disturbing left knee injury. He was immediately ruled out and is presumed to have suffered a severe — and potentially season-ending — injury.
The replay was too gruesome for national audiences, but it has circulated the Twittersphere nonetheless. Chubb suffered the injury after Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick dove low and bent the runner's knee backward. Fitzpatrick hurt his chest on the play, but that hasn't stopped Cleveland fans from taking an accusatory stance.
Low blows carry a disproportionate risk. There's no reason to believe Fitzpatrick targeted Chubb's knee intentionally, but NFL players are meant to avoid direct hits to the knee, and Browns fans have been vocally calling for Fitzpatrick to get suspended all night.
Cleveland Browns fans lobby for Minkah Fitzpatrick suspension after Nick Chubb injury
You can watch the video at your own risk and make a judgment for yourself, but a vocal section of the Browns fanbase is resolute in its belief that Fitzpatrick should be heavily punished for his hit on Chubb.
Some of these tweets are NSFW.
Fitzpatrick was able to leave the field under his own power, but he was later ruled out. The exact nature of his injury is unclear, but he spent time on the ground after the play and was in visible pain.
Again, there's simply no reason to believe Fitzpatrick operated maliciously here. It's important to make a distinction between a dangerous hit and a dirty hit. Fitzpatrick should not have gone so low, but to act as though he intentionally sought to knock Chubb out of the game is a tad ridiculous.
Cleveland fans are understandably distraught — so is the entire NFL fanbase — but if anything, there should be concern about Fitzpatrick's own health status, rather than a chorus of detractors calling for his head.
The Chubb injury is awful, an unfortunate side effect of a dangerous game. There are absolutely dirty and intentional hits in football. We all watched the Colorado-Colorado State game on Saturday. This is not that.
We will see if the NFL investigates the matter. Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson was recently investigated for a more blatantly dirty hit — after developing a pattern of dangerous hits — and he was not suspended. The nature of Chubb's injury could impact the league's thinking, but one has to imagine Fitzpatrick is safe from suspension. At worst, he could face a fine for the knee shot.
