• Nick Chubb reaches season-high in carries: The game script helped Chubb see more volume this week, but he was also seeing more opportunities regardless of the game script.
• Wide receivers hurt: Both Cedric Tillman and Van Jefferson didn’t play their usual snap share due to injury.
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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns
- Nick Chubb: 20 carries, 59 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 reception, 1 receiving yard
- Calvin Austin III: 3 receptions, 78 yards, 1 touchdown
Nick Chubb takes steps in the right direction: Chubb scored his second touchdown and third of the season while playing more than usual.
Chubb has typically only played on early downs and in short-yardage situations throughout his career, which has remained true this season. In 2022, he played in 64% of Cleveland's early down snaps outside of a two-minute drill ( in the first half of games before game scripts impact snap rates one way or another). He continued in that ballpark in his first three games back with a 68% snap rate in the same situations.
There was some concern after last week when that dropped to 58%. The Browns, in general, were losing more than expected, causing Chubb to not play much in the second half. The one bright note last week is he averaged 4.5 yards per carry after averaging 3.2 or less in his first three games.
This week, he played 15 of 18 snaps on early downs in the first half, which was much higher than usual on a pretty solid sample size of snaps. This included his goal-line touchdown. The game script was better than most of his games, allowing him to run 20 times and the game-winning touchdown late. While the efficiency still wasn’t there Thursday night, he is getting enough volume to be a fantasy starter in three of the final five fantasy matchups this season, depending on the matchup.
Monitor Cedric Tillman’s health: Tillman went to the locker room after he was evaluated for a concussion.
Tillman played his usual role as the Browns' X receiver for the first three quarters, leading the position group in snaps and routes. He also led the team in targets before his exit.
Jameis Winston threw at least 40 times each of the last three games, so this game was a dramatic difference in passing volume due to the game script and weather. No one was receiving the same volume as usual. Tillman caught two passes for 28 yards.
Jamari Thrash was Tillman’s immediate replacement, while Elijah Moore also splayed more in two-receiver sets. The Browns don’t play again until December 2nd on Monday Night Football, so ideally, the 11-day break is enough time for Tillman to be ready to play again. If not, Moore could be an option for desperate fantasy managers in Week 13, particularly if we don’t know if Tillman will play or not until that Monday.
Monitor Van Jefferson’s health: Jefferson missed parts of the first half due to a quadriceps injury.
Jefferson appeared on the injury report before Week 11 with a quadriceps injury and missed practice time. He wasn’t on the injury report this week, but after playing in the first two plays, he only played two more plays on the first four drives. He returned to playing in most three-receiver sets but not as much in two-receiver sets. He was initially ruled questionable due to a quadriceps injury, which may have been the same injury that was bothering him a week ago.
It seemed like Mike Williams could be overtaking Jefferson, in general, but Calvin Austin III was typically on the field with 12 personnel. Austin ordinarily just plays in the slot in three-receiver sets. The fact that it was Austin here and not Williams is not a great sign for Austin potentially becoming a full-time starter in the offense this year. It is probably fine to drop Williams at this point, as it might be a few weeks, at best, before he could have a full-time role.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Steelers running back Jaylen Warren has run at least nine times for at least 40 yards with at least two receptions in each of the last five games.
- Browns backup tight end Geoff Swaim was inactive due to a concussion. Blake Whiteheart was elevated from the practice squad to take his place. Swaim played 140 snaps this season coming into this game, largely in blocking situations. Whiteheart played 78, also mostly as a blocker earlier in the year when David Njoku was out.
- Running back Jonathan Ward and wide receiver Scotty Miller were both healthy inactives for the Steelers, so was Browns running back D’Onta Foreman. These were all to be expected given the recent health of those position groups.
- The Browns had elevated wide receiver Kadarius Toney from the practice squad last week and made Jaelon Darden inactive. This week, Darden was active while Toney remained on the practice squad.
Table Notes
- Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
- Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
- Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.
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