The Denver Broncos were dealt a significant blow Monday afternoon when Bradley Chubb partially tore his ACL in Denver’s Week 4 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Broncos head coach Vic Fangio confirmed the news, announcing the injury would require surgery and that Chubb would miss the remainder of the season.
“It’s a huge loss,” Fangio said. “He’s one of our better players, obviously. He’s a tempo setter, great player, great person, leader and all that. So, it is a loss.”
Fangio said that Chubb experienced discomfort in his knee upon waking up Monday morning, so the team sent him for an MRI that revealed the injury.
Chubb was yanked from the game multiple times, once for cramps and another time for a knee injury. Chubb managed to play through a majority of the second half despite the injury.
“Well, he did have cramps, that was separate,” Fangio said. “He did hurt his knee at some point in the game, but he felt good enough to come back in. Actually, he played that last series pretty [darn] well, had some really good pass rushes and caused that fumble that we weren’t able to get. He was as surprised, I think, as everybody this morning when he woke up feeling the way he did.”
Chubb was a star in an otherwise disappointing 2018 campaign for the Broncos, registering 12 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles. Along with Von Miller, Chubb was expected to help rectify the club this season under Fangio.
Instead, Chubb’s season will end prematurely after just four games. The North Carolina State product posted one sack and a forced fumble to pair with 21 combined tackles this season.
Despite losing one of his best players for the season, Fangio is staying positive as the Broncos prepare to take on the Los Angeles Chargers.
“There’s no pity parties in the NFL, we’ve just got to keep going,” Fangio said. “The losses are our own doing. Injuries don’t have an effect on those. We’ve just got to keep going. Nobody is feeling sorry for anybody here. Just another one of the things you have to deal with in the NFL during a season. We’re not the only team that’s had them.”
While losing Chubb is a gut punch, Fangio believes the Broncos have the proper depth and motivation to turn things around this season.
“Yeah but turning around my definition of that is getting a win this week, and then we’ll worry about the following week,” Fangio said. “That’s what turn around means me. Now, I don’t know what it means to you or anybody else, but we’re going to do everything we can to win this game this week.”
