The Browns could crack the franchise history books as soon as the ball is kicked off Saturday against the Saints at FirstEnergy Stadium.
If the kickoff temperature is the same as or colder than 15 degrees, the game will officially rank among the top 5 coldest games at home in franchise history. As of Friday morning, the hourly forecast from weather.com predicts the temperature to be 11 degrees at kickoff at 1 p.m., which would make the game the fourth coldest the Browns have ever played in Cleveland.
Here's where it would stand on the list:
| Rank | Date | Opponent | Temp. | Kickoff | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan. 4, 1981 | vs. Oakland | 1 degree | 12 p.m. kickoff | 14-12 L |
| 2 | Dec. 11, 1977 | vs. Houston | 7 degrees | 1 p.m. kickoff | 19-15 L |
| 3 | Dec. 17, 1989 | vs. Minnesota | 10 degrees | 1 p.m. kickoff | 23-17 W |
| 4 | Dec. 24, 2022 | vs. New Orleans | 11 degrees (forecasted) | 1 p.m. kickoff | TBD |
| 5 | Dec. 10, 2009 | vs. Pittsburgh | 15 degrees | 8:20 p.m. | 13-6 W |
The top spot against Oakland was a playoff game, which would mean the Browns-Saints game would be the third coldest home regular season game in franchise history. It would also be the coldest game ever played at FirstEnergy Stadium, if the forecast holds.
The real feel temperature, of course, will feel much colder than the actual temperature due to high winds. With winds around 30 mph and wind gusts up to 60 mph, the real feel temp could be closer to -20. There is also around a 30 percent chance of snow.
The Browns have been adamant all week that they'll be ready no matter how the weather feels.
"This is the great part of our league is you have games that you get to play in different conditions," head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "Sometimes you play and it's real hot. Sometimes you play and it is windy and it's real cold or whatever it is. The truth of the matter is the conditions will be the exact same for both teams so it will be about who executes and who does their job."
