A return was initially announced as questionable, but he returned to the game early in the second half after a third-and-6 drop by Jerry Jeudy with 14:21 left in the third quarter.

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“Yeah, it didn’t feel too good,” Ford said of that one play. “I’ll be fine.”

After that, the Browns’ No. 1 defender didn’t play again and finished the night with six carries for 22 yards, all before the injury. D’Onta Foreman carried the bulk of the load in Ford’s absence with 49 yards on 13 carries.

Ford wasn’t the only Browns running back to leave Sunday’s game either.

Just before the two-minute warning at the end of the fourth quarter, Pierre Strong Jr. left the game after catching a 2-yard pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson and was evaluated for a head injury. Head coach Kevin Stefanski did not provide an update on his status in his postgame press conference.

Nick Chubb, who broke his foot in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs two weeks ago, has also been missing from the Cleveland running back room.

Last week, with Chubb out, Ford rushed for 66 yards on the first play of the game against the Bengals. He finished the game with 11 carries for 92 yards and had 39 receiving yards on five catches.

Ford said his goal is to try to return to next week’s season finale in Baltimore, even if the Browns are 3-13.

“The way we always deal with it,” Ford said. “Back to work. It’s the next man’s turn.”