PHILADELPHIA – As Cleveland Browns players filtered out of the visitors’ locker room at Lincoln Financial Field, running back Nick Chubb sat slumped in a locker and scrolled through his phone.

About 30 minutes later, defensive end Myles Garrett talked about the potential of soon reintroducing a player often considered the “heart and soul” of the Browns to a team that hasn’t shown much life of late.

“The day is darkest before dawn. And hopefully next week a great one will come back,” Garrett said after Cleveland’s 20-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. “He is going to help us turn this tide and we will continue to find ways to win. At the moment we are very close. We have to find a way to close these games. We are putting ourselves in position .We just have to take that next step.”

That next step in a disappointing season in which the Browns (1-5) lost four straight games and their offense failed to get off the ground, could welcome Chubb back to the field when Cleveland hosts the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday that Chubb, who has been practicing for the past two weeks upon his return from knee surgery, will remain day-to-day. However, a source told ESPN that Chubb is expected to make his season debut in Week 7.

The Browns’ offense is raising even more questions after trading wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday. But with Chubb, who was the engine of Cleveland’s offense before suffering a season-ending knee injury last September, the Browns were able to rebuild the identity of their collapsing unit.

Although it was a loss, Cleveland found success on the ground against the Eagles. The Browns ran for 100 yards for the third time this season and averaged 4 yards per carry. Several players said after the game that running the ball, especially the runs under center that Stefanski has had success with, was a focus as they prepared for Philadelphia. And the Browns were able to run the ball despite another injury to the offensive line, when center Nick Harris, filling in for the injured Ethan Pocic, broke his fibula on the first drive.

“It helped a lot,” quarterback Deshaun Watson said of the ground game’s success. “That’s what we have to do with the offense. We have to be balanced. We have to let them play fair as the game goes on. And you can see in the second half it kind of opened up some play action and things like that. And then the checkdowns opened up as well and it didn’t necessarily put as much pressure on the O-line.”

Through six games, Brown’s running backs are averaging 4.3 yards per carry and 1.78 yards after contact per rush, which rank 16th and 19th, respectively.

The Browns have not yet announced their plans for Chubb’s workload once he returns, but his presence could be an elixir of sorts for an offense that has yet to record 300 receiving yards this season and continues to search for answers. Coaches and players have praised Chubb’s form in practice as he has helped out on the scout team and continued to get reps on the starting offense.

Weeks ago, Watson said the team wasn’t waiting for Chubb to return to save the offense. And at 1-5, the Browns’ problems are multifaceted, problems that extend beyond the return of Chubb, a four-time Pro Bowl selection.

The Browns still need to find a way to establish a functional passing game, now without their best pass catcher. They need to find ways to make Watson more comfortable now that he has reverted to a spread approach designed to highlight his talents. And Cleveland must avoid the penalties that reduce the already small margin for error on offense.

Watson has struggled miserably since his debut in Cleveland. He has recorded the lowest QBR of all qualifying passers this season. But his completion percentage and yards per dropback are both higher with Chubb on the field than with him off the field.

With Chubb expected to return soon, he could help stabilize a unit still trying to find itself a third of the way into the season.

“We’re not playing well enough to overcome those penalties,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “So we’ve got to find a way to do that. But I thought we did a little bit better this week trying to run the ball.”