Thursday, September 21, 2023

Cleveland Browns Week 3 NFL Power Rankings Roundup

Throughout the 2023 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Below you will find a Week 3 roundup for the Cleveland Browns in our consensus 2023 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 16

Player: RB Nick Chubb
Current contract situation: Under contract through the 2024 season

The Browns' All-Pro running back suffered a serious left knee injury Monday night against the Steelers and is likely done for the season. Chubb still has one more season left on the contract extension he signed in 2021 but has no guaranteed money left on his deal after this year. Running backs, even elite ones, no longer carry the value they once did in the modern NFL. Chubb has been the heart and soul of Cleveland's offense for several years. What the Browns do now, in light of Chubb's injury, will be one of the next big storylines regarding star rushers. -- Jake Trotter

NFL.com -- Rank: 13

The awful Nick Chubb injury cloaks everything right now. You just can't replace Chubb, although Jerome Ford showed real heart Monday night. What worries me is that Chubb's absence puts more on Deshaun Watson and the pass protection. Two of Watson's three turnovers were returned for touchdowns, vaulting a stagnant Steelers offense to victory. Deshaun's interception might go down as a "drop," but the ball was not well-thrown. His first fumble was huge, until his defense bailed him out. No such luck on the second one. Some of his throws were wildly off-target. And what's up with 30 penalty yards from the quarterback? The whole situation just gives me the willies right now, even if this defense deserves a lot of credit.

CBS Sports -- Rank: 17

Deshaun Watson is struggling and therefore the offense is as well right now. Losing Nick Chubb for the year with a knee injury is a tough blow to handle.

USA Today -- Rank: 15

They've already become a M*A*S*H unit — no loss more concerning than what's expected to be a season-ending knee injury suffered Monday by RB Nick Chubb, who's pretty much been Cleveland's offensive identity for the duration of his sterling six-year career.

The Athletic -- Rank: 19

Running back Nick Chubb's knee injury is devastating first of all in a global sense, but secondly, because Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson still doesn't look like a player who can be the focal point of a good offense.

FOX -- Rank: 14

Monday dealt the Browns an awful sequence of events. Nick Chubb is lost for the year, and Deshaun Watson was directly responsible for 14 Pittsburgh points in a 26-22 loss. Two weeks into the season, Watson doesn't look appreciably better than he did last year, and now he's got to step it up without his best playmaker. It won't be a fun week in Cleveland.

Yahoo! -- Rank: 10

The Browns need much more out of Deshaun Watson. It didn't matter as much before Monday night. But then Nick Chubb suffered an awful season-ending injury and the offense is on Watson's shoulders going forward. From what we've seen through Watson's eight games with Cleveland, that's not a good thing.

PFT -- Rank: 17

Deshaun Watson isn't the player he was when with the Texans in 2020.

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