The Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints face off on Saturday, and they will also be battling the elements — which could be the biggest factor
On Saturday, the Cleveland Browns will host the New Orleans Saints along the shores of Lake Erie. There will be many storylines to follow that afternoon but none more pressing than the fact that the weather conditions will be downright awful.
Let’s discuss that forecast and a couple of other storylines, that will have a bearing on who will come out as the winner.
Browns storyline No. 3: How will the weather affect the game?
The biggest storyline of this week‘s game between the Browns and the Saints is the weather — which will be frightful on Christmas Eve. Temperatures are expected to be around 10° and wind chills will be anywhere between 20 and 30 below zero.
Perfect conditions down along the lake.
Over the history of Cleveland football, there have been many games that have been at the mercy of mother nature. This game will be remembered for its cold and blustery conditions like many before it. How many of you remember the 1981 “Red Right” game against the Oakland Raiders or more recently the “Snowbowl” game against the Buffalo Bills?
A few weeks ago, Cleveland had their game moved from Buffalo when they played the Bills because there was a pending five feet of snow coming storm. There won’t be that much snow, but the wind and frigid conditions will probably force both teams to run the ball a lot.
For the Browns. they have one of the best running back groups in the NFL with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Chubb was hampered some this week, recovering from an injury to his foot from last week’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, but he should be ready to go on Saturday.
Cleveland has used poor weather conditions down along the lakeshore over the years to their advantage and this will be another game to do that to the Saints who are used to playing their games in dome stadiums.
Browns storyline No. 2: How will Deshaun Watson look?
Deshaun Watson was asked this week by the local media why he chose Cleveland as his next destination to play football, and he spoke on his appreciation for Cleveland head coach, Kevin Stefanski, and being able to talk football with him back when he was making his decision this offseason.
Watson now will be entering his fourth week as the starter for the Browns, and he has slowly gotten better each week. Some of the players in Cleveland, including Nick Chubb, talked about them, trying to catch up to how Watson plays the game. Watson explains that there are a lot of young, talented players on the team, and just having them learn from him and grow as a group will help them get better in time.
With three games remaining in the regular season, there’s certainly a lot still that Watson has to learn and practice in this new offense. That means this time is useful for his preparation for the future. The Browns might not make it to the playoffs this year, but they will be in much better shape going forward having Watson get much-needed reps in now.
He has so much talent around him from Amari Cooper to Chubb that this offense could be unstoppable in time. At the moment there are a lot of hiccups still and many things to work out, however, when you listen to the players like Cooper and Chubb talk about Watson and his excellence, one has to be excited about the future.
These players see a promising future with Watson behind center and that is very encouraging.
Browns storyline No. 1: How will Cade York respond?
Rookie kicker Cade York made the kick of his career when he hit the game-winner in the Browns’ season opener against the Carolina Panthers. That not only put pressure on the youngster to continue to make kicks but also probably set up some unrealistic expectations that weren’t quite ready for York to take on — and he’s struggled mightily since.
In last week’s game against the Ravens, York again missed two field goals. He also made a couple of field goals in the team’s 13-3 win. However, York has been inconsistent, to say the least, this season. It has never found a rhythm that has given the team or its fans confidence that he’s going to hit the next one.
The weather will be downright awful on Saturday with high winds and extremely cold temperatures. When the Browns have opportunities to kick extra points or field goals will they actually do that, or will Stefanski be hesitant to send out the kicker? We may see many more fourth-down plays where Cleveland goes for it even though they might be in field goal range.
Kicking, like in many other sports, comes down to the mental side of things. York may well suggest that he is onto the next kick and that these struggles aren’t a big deal, but they really are because they keep happening. Continually having field goals missed or blocked can’t sit well in the young mind of York. On Saturday, unless they are chip-shot field goals within 25 or 30 yards, I suspect that coach Stefanski will go for it.
Wind and cold weather on the shores of Lake Erie make kicking it difficult at FirstEnergy — so we probably should be patient. York will get another season to get improve but he’ll need to be better. If we see York kicking anything on Saturday, we’ll all be holding our collective breaths in hopes that the ball sails through the uprights.
Nick Chubb running up leader board, can he catch Jim Brown?
Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb has already accomplished some extraordinary things in his brief career. Now can he catch Jim Brown's records?