Nick Chubb's Knee Injury

Overview

Nick Chubb's Knee Injury is a gruesome, viral injury to Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb during NFL Monday Night Football on September 18th, 2023, in which his leg is seen bent far in the wrong direction after getting tackled. The replay of the injury was deemed too gruesome to broadcast on national television, though it did spread online, leading to prayers and well-wishes for Chubb in the following days, as well as some reacting with memes to the clip.

Background

Early during Cleveland's Monday Night Football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 18th, 2023, Browns running back Nick Chubb took a hit from Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to an already surgically repaired knee. The tackle caused his leg to bend significantly in the wrong direction (sideways). The broadcast elected not to show the replay, but it was shown in the stadium shortly after.

In a clip that circulated online during the game, the announcers explained that the replay of the injury is "not to be seen," while the crowd groans in horror after seeing the replay. The video of the moment was tweeted by user @bubbaprog^[1] that same night, gaining over 360 retweets and 1,700 likes in one day (shown below).

You can tell the exact moment the crowd in attendance saw the replay pic.twitter.com/kmu1mjYYul

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 19, 2023

A clear replay of the injury circulated on social media shortly after. One replay posted by user @memesorta on September 18th gained over 2,200 retweets and 17,000 likes in one day (shown below).

According to news outlets covering the story the following day on September 19th, 2023, Chubb will miss the remainder of the season due to the injury.^[4]

Developments

On September 18th, 2023, after the injury, athletes from multiple sports posted well wishes for Nick Chubb, including LeBron James ^[2] and Lamar Jackson,^[3] among others (shown below, top and bottom).

Online, users on social media reacted to the injury en masse as it spread on September 18th. For example, Twitter user @gabeybrazey posted a video of Vince McMahon as a joking tribute to Chubb, gaining over 420 retweets and 2,500 likes in one day (shown below).

My future kid: who’s that?

Me on the couch at 9pm drunk and crying on the couch watching Nick Chubb highlights: pic.twitter.com/hiaSrh3hfO

— Gabe (@gabeybrazy) September 19, 2023

Also on September 18th, Twitter user @nicholasjlevi^[5] joked that he wished it was the team's underperforming quarterback DeShaun Watson who was injured, gaining over 60 retweets and 770 likes in the same timeframe (seen below).

Search Interest

External References