CLEVELAND, Ohio – Bah-smoker.
the Browns gave their frozen fans just a piece of coal on Christmas Eve with a 17-10 loss to the Saints at the frozen FirstEnergy Stadium after leading 10-0 in the second quarter.
The loss dropped the Browns to 6-9 and eliminated them once and for all. The Saints improved to 6-9 to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson struggled in the frigid conditions, completing 15 of 31 attempts for 135 yards without a touchdown and one interception for a 47.1 rating. He turned icy in the second half.
Nick Chubb rushed for 92 yards, but it wasn’t enough as the Browns failed to score in the second half.
Trailing 17-10, Watson took over in his 20 with 5:16 to go and three timeouts remaining. He shook a sack and hit Amari Cooper with a 14-yard pass at the Saints 33 and the David Bell with an 18-yard pass at the 15th.
But Watson threw three consecutive incompletes – a pass to Cooper and falls from Donovan Peoples-Jones and tight end David Njoku in the end zone – and was dismissed on fourth down to end the game.
Watson struggled to hit his target amid high winds blowing off the lake, with gusts of over 30 mph. The temperature at kickoff was 6 degrees, making it the coldest game in Browns history. Windchill felt 16 minus.
“Both teams have to play it,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said of the conditions after the loss. “You have to find a way.”
That didn’t stop Njoku from keeping his promise to warm up shirtless before the match. Staying out for around nine minutes, Njoku caught a few passes and pondered in the end zone before returning to the locker room. Two Saints players also came out shirtless for warm-ups.
The Browns led 10-0 in the second quarter, but gave up 17 straight points to the Saints after introducing dual-threat quarterback/running back Taysom Hill, who teamed up with Andy Dalton. Dalton was 8 of 15 passes for 92 yards, with a passer rating of 44.3.
As the Saints clung to their 17-10 lead in the fourth quarter, Alvin Kamara caught a 29-yard pass on Deion Jones near midfield. But Greg Newsome II forced the Saints to pitch three plays later when he broke a deep ball to receiver Keith Kirkwood on the left side.
The Browns turned the ball over on the downs with 6:55 left in the game to start New Orleans at the Browns’ 39, but the defense forced a three-and-out to give the Browns another chance. But they couldn’t finish it.
In the first half, the Browns encouraged their fans to descend into the sparsely populated lower bowl for a better view – and perhaps stick together for warmth. After that, the third deck was empty and the middle deck was uneven.
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New Orleans took the lead for the first time, 17-10, with 55 seconds left in the third quarter on a 4-yard run from Kamara. The TD took advantage of the interception of Deshaun Watson by Daniel Sorenson who escaped at the hands of David Bell. Sorensen returned the interception 36 yards to launch the Saints to the Browns’ 15. Four plays later, Kamara entered from the 4-yard line, crashing through a wall at the goal line.
The Saints had executed the dreaded double dip to tie the game at 10 with 9:40 left in the third quarter: they scored from 23 yards as time expired in the first half to shoot within 10-3 , and scored again on the first drive of the second half, tying it 10-10 on an 8-yard TD executed by Taysom Hill on a 9-game walk.
Leaning more on Hill and Kamara, the Saints notched the Browns for 152 rushing yards on the day. The Browns ran for 124.
The Browns led 10-3 in the half on a 12-yard touchdown run from Deshaun Watson and a 30-yard field goal from Cade York.
The Saints closed on a 23-yard field goal from Wil Lutz as time expired in the first half.
Watson’s TD run took advantage of Grant Delpit’s interception off Andy Dalton with 2:44 left in the first quarter on a pass down the middle that was knocked down by tight end Juwan Johnson, who was tightly covered by Browns safety John Johnson III.
Delpit returned the ball 40 yards and jumped into the Dawg Pound, where he was mobbed by fans and teammates.
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The Browns started on the Saints’ 30 and had their first down of the game after making three outs on each of their first three possessions for 10 yards.
Njoku caught a 6-yard pass at 12, and Watson took it from there, working his way down the left side of the end for his first rushing touchdown with the Browns on the first play of the second quarter.
Watson was so excited that he hopped into the VIP box on the left side of the pitch and sat with the fans for a while, much to their delight.
The Browns forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Saints practice, and Watson marched the Browns to the Saints’ 12. After dancing in the backfield waiting for a receiver to open up, Watson found Cooper all alone in the back of the end zone and delivered the perfect ball. But Cooper slipped on the snowy grass and dropped the pass.
York stepped up and landed a 30-yard kick to make it 10-0 with 4:07 left in the half.
The Saints ran over Hill on the final practice of the first half, and he gained 11 and 16 yards on the ground. But the Browns stopped him 1 and 2 yards from the 8 and 7, and the Saints had to settle for the basket.
Following
The Browns visit Washington commanders on New Year’s Day. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.
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