Deshaun Watson bracing for coldest game of his life when Browns host Saints
Dec. 23—The New Orleans Saints have been playing in the NFL since they were an expansion team in 1967, and never have they played in a game as cold as it will be Dec. 24 in FirstEnergy Stadium when they visit the Browns.
The temperature will be 12 degrees with 30 mph winds when the football is kicked at 1 p.m. to begin the game, according to the forecast at weather.com. That would make it the coldest game in Cleveland since Dec. 17, 1989, when the thermometer read 10 degrees. The Browns beat the Vikings, 23-17, when holder and backup quarterback Mike Pagel threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to linebacker Van Waiters on a fake field goal in overtime.
"It was do or die for them," Pagel said after the game. "They had to put some pressure on us. We saw that they were going to try to block the kick. All Van did was turn around. I saw him standing there by himself and said, 'Here, Van, catch it.' "
Matt Bahr lined up to kick a 32-yard field goal on third down on the play. Bahr's field goal from the same distance with 24 seconds left in regulation forced overtime. The Browns tried the fake on third down so they could line up for a field goal again on fourth down if the fake failed.
A week later, the Browns beat the Houston Oilers in Houston, 24-20, to finish 9-6-1 and win the AFC Central by a half-game over Houston. They beat the Bills, 34-30, in a divisional playoff and then lost the AFC championship game to the Broncos in Denver, 37-21.
The Browns would not have made the 1989 playoffs if they hadn't beaten the Vikings and the weather 33 years ago.
The coldest game the Saints were involved in was played on Dec. 26, 1993, at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, according to Nola.com. The temperature was 24 degrees. The Eagles won, 37-26, behind three touchdown passes from Bubby Brister.
The Browns are 6-8. The Saints are 5-9. Playoff hopes for both teams are still alive, but barely. Each team has a two percent chance to make the postseason, according to fivethirtyeight.com.
"This is definitely going to be the coldest for sure," Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson said, adding he won't let weather concerns mess with his mind. "No, not at all. My main job is just going out there and just executing the game plan and try to win — not so much of what the weather is going to be because I can't control that."
Saints quarterback Andy Dalton spent the first nine years of his NFL career with the Bengals. Dalton, incidentally, is 12-5 against the Browns in his career.
"It's funny," Dalton told reporters in New Orleans. "When you play in the AFC North for so long, and the NFC North (Dalton played for the Bears in 2021), it's like you don't get asked any questions about the cold. Come down here, and everybody's asking about the cold."
The team that runs the ball the best should prevail, and that should favor the Browns. Nick Chubb is third in the NFL with 1,252 rushing yards. If anyone can block out the cold, it's Chubb. Chubb said he will go sleeveless, as he always does no matter the weather.
"You get used to it or you find a way to adapt to it," Chubb said. "It is what it is. Can't do anything about it. We're preparing for whatever so we'll be ready."
Alvin Kamara leads the Saints with 641 rushing yards.
Conklin extension
Christmas came early for Browns right tackle Jack Conklin. The Browns and Conklin have agreed on a four-year $60 million contract extension, a league source confirmed on Dec. 23. Conklin's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, made the announcement.
Conklin is in the third and final year of the contract he signed with the Browns as a free agent in 2020.
Conklin suffered a torn patellar tendon on Nov. 28 last season. He worked hard in his rehab and by the third game of the season was starting again. His teammates selected him for the Ed Block Courage Award earlier this month.
"Cleveland will be my home forever," Conklin said at the time. "Obviously, I'd like to be here the rest of my career. We'll see what happens and how that works out."
Conklin is 28. He played the first four years of his career with the Tennessee Titans.
