As Akron Beacon Journal sports writer Ryan Lewis noted today, considering the Browns’ situation at quarterback this season, a strong running game might have taken some of the pressure off Brandon Weeden, then Jason Campbell for a few plays, then Brian Hoyer, then Weeden again, then Campbell again, then Weeden a third time for a few plays and finally Campbell again.

But the ground game has been grounded and is going backward in some cases. The Browns are on pace to finish the season with 1,304 yards rushing, which would be the third fewest (1,150 in 1999 and 1,085 in 2000) since the team returned to the NFL for the 1999 season.

They have just one rushing touchdown through nine games this season. To get it, Willis McGahee ran three times from the 1-yard line against the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 3. The only other team with one rushing touchdown: the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It’s been getting worse. In the past month, the Browns have had just one game in which the team’s leading rusher topped 40 yards. That was against the Lions, and it wasn’t by a running back. Wide receiver Travis Benjamin took an end around 45 yards down the sideline. He led the team in rushing that game on one play.

McGahee is averaging 2.6 yards per carry since joining the team Sept. 19 and last week against the Baltimore Ravens, he ran for 31 yards on 21 carries. In the past few weeks, he’s sat out of Thursday practices to rest his surgically repaired knees.

The Browns seem determined to fix the running game during their bye week.

According to Lewis, head coach Rob Chudzinski said Monday he and the staff would “refine” the running game during the week off and on Tuesday indicated that fullback Chris Ogbonnaya could receive a boost in carries.

Ogbonnaya is averaging 5.3 yards a carry this season but has only 19 carries. He has also been an option in the passing game and a special teams player.

Ogbonnaya has been dealing with a rib injury, and his health could determine how many attempts he receives per game.

“If he doesn’t feel any better than he did the other night, no he won’t [get more carries] because we need him on third down and we need him to be able to play 15, 20 plays a game,” offensive coordinator Norv Turner said. “If he’s healthy and recovered from where he’s beat up a little bit, then he’ll get more carries.”

If healthy, the Browns will have McGahee and Ogbonnaya sharing the duties more evenly than in past weeks. It’s another transformation for Ogbonnaya, who has gone from running back to fullback to viable threat in the passing game, all while contributing on special teams.