B-r-r-r-r-owns forecast

It was negative-1 in downtown Cleveland late Friday afternoon, the day before Christmas Eve. Perfect weather for a football game. Ya think?

Tell that to members of the Browns and New Orleans Saints, who will face each other for three hours Saturday under abysmal winter conditions in the Browns' home finale. Promises to be a game that will be long remembered more for the weather than the result.

Weather will not be just one of the factors that determines the outcome. It will be the only factor. Temperatures are expected to barely reach the teens by game time before plunging to near zero, perhaps below, with accompanying snowfall and winds expected to gust as high as 50 mph. That's a blizzard.

For the record, the Saints check in with a 5-9 record, tied with two other teams for, depending on your perspective, either second place or the basement in the miserable NFC South. The relatively-speaking red-hot Browns are 6-8, having won three of the last four games.

Odds favor the Browns in this one if for no other reason they're used to this. This will be an adventure for the visitors, who play football inside a weather-controlled dome half the season. 

The conditions no doubt will cause both coaching staffs to alter their original game plans for all three phases of the game. The most common belief is running the ball will be emphasized to limit the possibility of mistakes through the air.

It will be interesting to see if Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski gives Deshaun Watson, who played played his first four National Football League seasons with the Houston Texans inside a domed stadium, free reign to open it up or goes the conservative route and pounds the Saints with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt all afternoon.

Considering the Browns run the ball nearly 50% of the time, look for Cleveland's tight ends and wide receivers to spend most of their time blocking to help the ground game, limiting Watson to high-percentage, low-risk throws.

The Saints, meanwhile, like to strike more through the air with quarterback Andy Dalton. But with rookie receiver Chris Olave and former Brown Jarvis Landry not available, chances are Saints head coach Dennis Allen will take full advantage of the versatile Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill.

Kamara has accumulated nearly 1,110 yards and three touchdowns from scrimmage and is just as dangerous a receiver as he is a runner. Hill is the ubiquitous everyman on the Saints. He can line up anywhere on the field at any time.

Can he play quarterback? He has. What about wide receiver? Yep. Tight end? That, too, Running back? Uh huh. Special teams? Has made a tackle on them this season. Finding Hill will be difficult.

Statistics for this one are meaningless. Footing most likely will be treacherous. And if snow accumulates on the field, just about anything is possible. If that happens, it will be interesting to see if officials permit members of the ground crew to sweep and keep the lines clean every five yards or so.

Wide receivers will have to be careful to maintain their balance as they run their routes, most of which most likely will be of the short- to medium-range variety. Running backs will probably find it difficult to get off to a quick start. Cutting and change of direction will be difficult, if not near impossible.

That goes, too, for linemen on both sides of the football. Traction will be difficult. Sack totals should take a hit. Turnovers under these conditions will be key. Holding on to the ball will be difficult. It should be noted the rejuvenated Browns defense has taken the ball away seven times in the last three games.

From Captain Obvious comes this gem: This will be a low-scoring game. Duh! The Browns and Baltimore Ravens put up only 16 total points a week ago under much better conditions. The weather will be the big winner for this one. So, too, will be the entertainment factor. It should be a fun game to watch as the Browns climb to 7-8 with their fourth victory in the last five games. Make it:

Browns, 15, Saints 11