“I think our running game has really gotten a lot better over the last few weeks and Jerome is a big part of that,” right tackle Jack Conklin said. “He stepped up when Nick (Chubb) got hurt and he’s doing a great job.”

A Chubb injury forced Jerome Ford into a larger role in Cleveland for the second straight game.

He had to do more last year because Chubb suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 against the Steelers that required two surgeries and extensive reconstruction. The Browns also brought back Kareem Hunt last year to help shoulder the load.

But without Hunt this season, Ford carried most of the rushing load through the Browns’ first six games while Chubb remained on the physically unable to perform list and recovered from his knee reconstruction.

After being inactive in Weeks 7 and 8 with a hamstring injury, Ford was able to play in Cleveland’s final seven games, including Sunday’s loss in Cincy.

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But once again he found himself carrying a heavier load on the floor after Chubb broke a bone in his left foot during Cleveland’s 21-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week. Chubb was placed on injured reserve, ending his season.

So what is Ford’s philosophy as he once again helps the team cope with Chubb’s absence?

“I feel like every day when you walk into the building to work, you’re number one and you’re preparing for your opportunity,” Ford said. “When the time comes, your jersey is called and it’s from you demand you make a play, you have to go out and make plays.”

Ford certainly took advantage of this opportunity on Sunday.

On the 66-yard run, he took advantage of a nice block from Conklin and receiver Elijah Moore to find an opening. Cincinnati linebacker Germaine Pratt still had a clean shot to bring down Ford, but missed a tackle. Ford was on his way to the races.

“I was able to block the tackle well,” Ford said. “The guy who hit the hole overdid it, got trapped inside and it was an arm tackle. The block from the O-line, the block from the wide receivers, always the ones who start a run.”

Unfortunately, the drive stalled at the goal line when fellow running back D’Onta Foreman deflected the ball on a first-and-goal rushing attempt from the Cincy 1.

After the game, Ford wasn’t bitter about the crucial mistake.

“We don’t even have 10 or five minutes left in the first quarter, so it’s just keep your head up,” he said. “We have a lot of football to play. Our space will get the call to go out and make a play. So make sure we stay ready. It’s football. We will make mistakes.”

Along with the 66-yard run, Ford’s 4-yard TD sprint with 5:53 left in the third quarter was one of the most memorable plays of the day.

The result was the culmination of an 11-play, 70-yard drive in which the Browns converted two third-down plays and Jerry Jeudy scored a DPI call on another to keep the series alive.

On the TD run, Ford made good use of blocks from center Ethan Pocic and right guard Wyatt Teller.

“The offense, everyone’s hitting for the same thing, you’re all on the same page,” Ford said. “Hiting on all cylinders and running the ball to the wide receivers, going in and getting people out. Without them we don’t do anything on the ground and they did a great job in the run game.”

But Ford was also impressive early in the drive as Cleveland got its first third-down conversion.

When QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson faced third-and-six from his own 34, he scrambled to his left and threw back across the field toward Ford near the midfield logo.

The running back jumped up and made the contested grab against linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither at the Browns’ 46 for a first down.

“Jerome, as we mentioned, continues to make great plays for us in both the passing game and the running game,” said head coach Kevin Stefanski. “I thought he made a really incredible play in that scramble with the Dorian throw to the left. Ford went up and got the ball and he continues to give us a spark.”

With all five of those catches, Ford was the second-best pass catcher in an offensive contest for Cleveland, behind tight end David Njoku’s eight catches for 66 yards.

Thompson-Robinson struggled to even get the offense going, finishing with 157 yards on 20 of 34 passing, two interceptions, five sacks and a 45.8 rating.

“Jerome had some great runs, which helped us,” Thompson-Robinson said. “But at the end of the day, we lost that game because of turnovers and I had to do a better job in that situation.”

In a disappointing 3-12 year with an offense that never seemed to quite get going, Ford’s performances in the final two games will be something to watch.

With Chubb having a contract year and now out due to injury, the future of the club remains in flux. What Ford does in the coming weeks could well help determine its future prospects.

So is he trying to prove he can be No. 1 in the NFL again?

“Not really,” Ford said. “I’ll just go out there. I’m a cog in a big machine, just trying to make the machine work. And in everything I get the opportunity to show that I have what it takes. I’m trying my best to do this.