The Texans came into FirstEnergy Stadium Sunday with the league’s worst run defense.

The Browns, well, they like to run.

Cleveland bounced Houston 10-7 to improve to 6-3 on the season, behind strong efforts from their defense and the dynamic running back duo of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.

Chubb returned after missing action since his Week 4 knee injury, racking up 126 yards and a TD, which would have been 2 had he not stepped out of bounds at the 1-yard line to ice the game completely. He showed signs of rust to start, but shook them off in the 2nd half when the Browns needed him most. Hunt meanwhile rushed for 104 yards, adding 28 extra on 3 receptions for good measure. Although the Browns didn’t convert these numbers into many scores, this tandem that wreaked havoc early in the season looks poised to head Cleveland’s offense into their first postseason berth since 2002, and accordingly, their first winning season since 2007.

Again, the health of these two is what remains to be seen, but with them both back, and the likes D’Ernest Johnson and Dontrelle Hilliard showing the ability to be fairly capable back ups, the Browns should be able to keep their ground warriors as fresh and as healthy as possible.

Another way they can give these guys a blow is to get Baker Mayfield going. He turned in another serviceable performance, throwing for a meager 132 yards and again no passing TD. Granted, the harsh Cleveland weather conditions called for the run, but as the season winds down, teams will begin to zero in on Chubb & co., and Mayfield will be forced to take command one way or another.

Chemistry issues aside, the mere threat of Odell Beckham Jr.’s presence gave others like Jarvis Landry and Rashard Higgins a lot of breathing room, and without him we haven’t seen much of anything from Mayfield and his receivers since the rematch with the Bengals. Any kind of traction from Baker is going to be key for a potential playoff push.

On the other side, Deshaun Watson and the Texans continued to spiral downward, falling to 2-7 and burying any shred of hope they had to rally this season. But, as the Browns have done, to their credit: they’ve beaten the teams they’re supposed to, and must continue to do so to claim a ticket to the postseason.

Looking ahead, Philly will pose a much bigger challenge than Houston for Cleveland. Despite coming off a bad loss to the Giants, they have a significantly stronger defense. And I know the NFC East is a dumpster fire, but they’re a first place team, and should be prepped for as such. All that being said, this should be another game that favors the Browns.

So God bless Nick Chubb, and let’s keep this thing runnin’.

Cheers.