Something isn’t clicking properly when the Browns try to run the ball, and not just because Nick Chubb is still working his way back from the knee injury he suffered in the second game of 2023. Chubb missed the final 15 games last season and the first six of 2024 recovering from two surgeries on his left knee. He has carried the ball 42 times in three games for 113 yards — a minuscule 2.7 yards per carry. Jerome Ford is averaging 5.2 yards on 52 carries, but D’Onta Foreman (3.4) and Pierre Strong (3.8) are also averaging less than four yards a try. “We’re doing the things we’ve always done, just not at the level we’ve done in the past,” Chubb said Nov. 13 in the Browns’ locker room in Berea. “But every day we come out here, we’re trying to get better and we’re working towards that.” Eight games remain in the regular season. The Browns (2-7) visit the Saints in New Orleans on Nov. 17. The Saints are 3-7. The Browns scored 15 rushing touchdowns last year playing without Chubb for virtually the entire season. They averaged 3.9 yards a carry, a tick below their 2024 average of 4.0 yards a try. But they have only three rushing touchdowns this season — one by Ford, one by Chubb, and one by injured quarterback Deshaun Watson. The Browns would be content getting back to their 2022 form, when they averaged 4.7 yards a carry, scored 19 rushing touchdowns and Chubb rushed for a career-best 1,525 yards. “I think if we had the answer, we’d be running the ball a lot better,” Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio said on Nov. 14. “When you look at the tape, most of the time it comes down to one guy missing a block here and there. It comes down to doing your 1/11th. “Like Nick said, we’re running the same schemes. If we get clean blocks and get a premier look, we have to truly execute that. That hasn’t been done enough. Four yards is a positive run, but when you get that look, you have to get 10-plus. You have to have an explosive run, and we haven’t executed that well enough.” Improving the running game would improve the passing attack. The Browns, last in the AFC North, have scored 13 offensive touchdowns in nine games. The Ravens (7-3) have scored 38 touchdowns on offense. Derrick Henry alone has scored one more touchdown than the entire Browns’ offense — 12 rushing and two receiving. The Bengals (4-6) have eight rushing touchdowns plus 24 through the air and the division-leading Steelers (7-2) have nine rushing TDs and 20 through the air. Head coach Kevin Stefanski turned play-calling over to offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey when the Browns were 1-6 with hopes of sparking the offense. Jedrick Wills was benched at left tackle in favor of second-year player Dawand Jones, who had been the right tackle. Jameis Winston took over at quarterback out of necessity because Watson is out for the season recovering from Achilles tendon surgery. Watson was 1-6 as a starter with five touchdown passes and three interceptions. His 5.3 yards per attempt ranks ahead of only Jacoby Brissett (5.2) of the Patriots among quarterbacks with at least 800 passing yards. Winston is averaging 6.6 yards an attempt and also has thrown five touchdown passes to go with three interceptions, but he has attempted only 99 passes compared to Watson’s 216 attempts. Dorsey’s task is calling plays that will minimize Winston’s interceptions. “The big thing is we have to trust our eyes and trust what we see out there,” Dorsey said. “When you do that as a quarterback and you trust your progressions, everything else takes care of itself. “There’s no need to force things. There’s no need to feel like ‘I have to make a play right here.’ We want to play smart — not conservatively at the position. To do that, you have to trust progressions and trust what you see on game day so you can play fast.” The Saints have 12 interceptions. Only the Vikings (15), Lions (13) and Texans (13) have more. Browns at Saints When: 1 p.m. Nov. 17 Where, Caesars Superdome, New Orleans Records: Browns 2-7, Saints (3-7) TV: WJW Radio: WKRK-FM 92.3, WNCX-FM 98.5, WKNR-AM 850, WKKY-FM 104.7