Jerome Ford gets into the end zone twice in place of Nick Chubb as Browns rout Titans
CLEVELAND — Jerome Ford, in some ways, couldn't tell the difference before the Browns' 27-3 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. In other ways, it couldn't have been more obvious Nick Chubb wasn't there.
It wasn't that Ford had some kind of pregame routine he necessarily shared with Chubb, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in last Monday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was just the presence the Pro Bowler had that seem to wash over the other running backs.
"Nick is actually really quiet before the game, like he is usually," Ford said after the game. "Usually it’s me, (running backs coach) Stump (Mitchell), him talking. You see him standing right next to you and know that Nick is ready to go. So not having him here is hard. Nick is the guy.”
On a day when the Browns scored a number equal to Chubb's jersey number — 27 — at the University of Georgia and won by a margin equal to Chubb's jersey number — 24 — in the pros, it was up to Ford to hold down his spot in the backfield. The rushing totals may not have been Chubb-like for the second-year pro, but it could be felt in his impact on the outcome.
The raw numbers for Ford were 10 carries for 18 yards and a touchdown, with two catches for 33 yards and a score. It's a far cry from the 106 yards on 16 carries he had when he was shoved out of the nest and into the main role on prime-time television when Chubb suffered the injury.
Yet, it was quality, not quantity for Ford. His first catch went for a 19-yard touchdown to give the Browns a 10-3 lead for good with 9:39 remaining in the second quarter.
On Ford's seventh carry, he helped to break the game open with a 3-yard touchdown to make it 20-3 with 5:49 remaining in the third.
"Jerome is a heck of a player," running back Kareem Hunt said. "Talented, can catch the ball, run it, too. And I think he did a great job, but being there and making the plays whenever his name was called, that was an awesome route he had when he got open for a touchdown. I knew it was a touchdown when they called it. So that was a cool play."
The touchdown catch, the second of the season for Ford, showed off the versatility he possesses. He also showed off a lesson he learned from another veteran, receiver Amari Cooper.
Lined up wide on the left side of the formation, Ford found linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair lined up on him with inside positioning. Ford ran off the line before breaking in about four yards from the line of scrimmage.
That move was a decoy, though, upon which Al-Shaair bit. Ford broke back outside and up the sideline, where he was wide open in the end zone when he caught the pass from Deshaun Watson.
"It was a double move," Ford said. "Getting a little bit of advice from Cooper and he kind of let me know what I needed to do on that play. I watched a little bit of this, him running the route, and I'm like, 'You know what? I'm going to try that out here and try to do it like Coop.' And it worked out for me."
Ford needed a little more help in getting to the end zone the second time he scored.
The Browns were in a first-and-goal situation from the Titans 3 when they basically ran a sweep to the left for Ford, who had to out-run the defense to reach the pylon to get the score. That move, though, he acknowledged may draw from flack in film study.
"I got closer and in my head I'm like, 'Don't reach the ball,'" Ford said. "Don't reach the ball because I know I'm going to get in trouble for reaching the ball. And I reached it in. I don't even know if that's the right way to say it, but I reached the ball anyway and it's a touchdown, but I know I'm going to get in trouble for it."
The kind of trouble that's a willing trade-off for a player who was being asked to step into the shoes vacated by a team favorite.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jerome Ford fills in for Nick Chubb, scores twice in Browns win
