BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The forecast is frightful, and temperatures are expected to be anything but delightful Saturday against the Saints.
And it’s supposed to snow.
Saturday’s game is expected to be the coldest in Cleveland since 2009 when the Browns beat the Steelers 13-6 with temperatures in the single digits and a wind chill of 15-20 below zero.
“I don't think the weather's the challenge,” cornerback Denzel Ward said Tuesday. “I think it's more so the team trying to beat us and the receivers and quarterbacks and everything, so that that's more so our focus is focus on the task at hand and that's going against the Saints and the difficulties they may bring. So I don't think the weather will be a big issue.”
As the Browns wrap up the home portion of their schedule for the season, temperatures are expected to be in the low teens and the wind chill could be double digits below zero when the game kicks off at 1.
Tight end David Njoku, who has become famous pregame for going shirtless, doesn’t plan to change up his routine this week despite the frigid forecast.
“I'm used to the cold,” the New Jersey native said. “However, doesn't mean I like the cold, but on game days I don't really mind the cold. As you can probably tell, I'm shirtless pregame every game.
“It's more just like a mentality thing. On game day, I feel nothing.”
In that win over the Steelers, the Browns sacked Ben Roethlisberger eight times while the Browns the Browns ran it 37 times for 171 yards and a touchdown between Josh Cribbs, Chris Jennings and Jerome Harrison.
The Bat signal is about to go out for running back Nick Chubb.
“I feel like it hasn’t been as cold as it has been my first couple years here until this weekend,” Chubb said. “It was definitely different, but you get used to it or you find a way to adapt to it.”
Chubb churned out 99 yards on 21 carries against the Ravens No. 2 run defense in the 13-3 victory last week to improve to 6-8 on the season.
“It felt good,” Chubb said. “I thought our O-line blacked amazing all night. Our outside receivers blocked well, too. They worked hard all week for us to get back where we are as a running team. I thought we did some great things on the ground.”
Dynamic duo – Following Saturday’s win over Baltimore quarterback Deshaun Watson mentioned how he feels he has some Patrick Mahomes in him and can make some of the improvisational highlights Mahomes seems to author on a weekly basis.
Mahomes leans heavily on perennial All-Pro tight end and Cleveland Heights native Travis Kelce, something Njoku, who is third on the team in catches [51], receiving yards [551] and touchdowns [3] this season, believes Watson can do with him.
“First off, those two are legendary, you know what I mean? All the kudos to them, Patrick and Trav,” Njoku said. “I feel like we can definitely do things similar to that as well. It's only a matter of time, so I'm very excited.”
While Watson continues to work his way back off a 700-day layoff following his suspension, Njoku has seen glimpses of the player that led the NFL in passing in 2020 already.
“I've seen a bunch of flashes of excellence, and I know what he has in him,” Njoku said. “I'm just excited to see him progress, but I'm very excited to see the whole offense progress as well with everyone together.”
Pocic DTR – Center Ethan Pocic was designated to return from injured reserve Tuesday clearing the way for him to return to practice.
“He's trending in that direction, but gotta see him practice first I would say,” Stefanski said. “Hjalte [Froholdt} has done a nice job in there. He has really played well for us. If it is Hjalte again, we are excited for that because he is playing well. If it is Ethan, we are excited about that. He was playing at a high level and playing very physically for us prior to getting injured.”
Pocic started the first 10 games of the season and suffered a knee injury in the first quarter against the Bills on Nov. 20 before being placed on IR two days later.
“He’s a great player, obviously,” Chubb said. “He played this year without thinking he was going to play with Nick [Harris] going down. He stepped up and was huge for us. It will be great having him back.”
The Browns have three weeks to activate Pocic but there seems to be a chance he could be up this weekend.
Injury report – DNP: RB Nick Chubb (foot), DE Jadeveon Clowney (concussion), DE Myles Garrett (illness), S John Johnson III (thigh), LG Joel Bitonio (rest), WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (rest); LIMITED: WR David Bell (thumb), WR Amari Cooper (rest/hip), LB Jordan Kunaszyk (hamstring), TE David Njoku (knee), CB Denzel Ward (shoulder); FULL: CB AJ Green (toe)
Up next – Practice Wednesday