NFL Week 16 Game Recap: New Orleans Saints 17, Cleveland Browns 10

Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs the ball against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

In the coldest game in Cleveland Browns history, the team's offense was unsurprisingly still ice cold. They jumped out to an early 10-point lead before salting it away to 17 unanswered points from the New Orleans Saints. The loss officially eliminates the Browns from playoff contention.

Offensive spotlight: While the weather conditions were unconducive to catching the ball, five dropped passes from Browns receivers — one of them a likely game-tying touchdown to tight end David Njoku — played a massive role in this game. And Cleveland had only 20 catchable opportunities (25%), making things far worse. The five drops were a combined 65 air yards down the field.

Defensive spotlight: Kaden Elliss has been a man possessed ever since his taking over for Pete Werner as a starter in Week 10. Against the Browns, Elliss led all players in the game with six defensive stops. He played a huge role in the Saints holding Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt to only 100 yards on 31 carries

Rookie spotlight: Cornerback Alontae Taylor continues to be playing football well beyond his years. He allowed only two catches on five targets for 14 yards. In eight starts so far this season, Taylor has never yielded more than 53 yards in a single game and has allowed a sub-50% completion percentage.

Offensive line spotlight: Don’t blame the Browns' offensive line for the lackluster offensive output. They afforded Deshaun Watson all day in pass protection. They didn’t allow a single sack or a hit on 33 pass-blocking snaps and combined to let up all of four hurries on the day.

Box Score

Passing
New Orleans Saints
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int
Andy Dalton 2.58 8 / 15 92 6.1 0 1
Cleveland Browns
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int
Deshaun Watson 12.8 15 / 31 135 4.4 0 1
Rushing
New Orleans Saints
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long
Alvin Kamara 19 20 76 3.8 1 14
Taysom Hill 11.6 9 56 6.2 1 16
David Johnson 3.4 7 16 2.3 0 4
Andy Dalton 2.58 1 -1 -1 0 -1
Adam Prentice 0.5 2 5 2.5 0 3
Cleveland Browns
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long
Deshaun Watson 12.8 3 24 8 1 12
Nick Chubb 11.2 24 92 3.8 0 19
Kareem Hunt 5.2 7 8 1.1 0 4
Receiving
New Orleans Saints
Player Fantasy Tgt Rec Yds YPT TD
Alvin Kamara 19 4 2 34 8.5 0
Rashid Shaheed 8.1 5 4 41 8.2 0
David Johnson 3.4 1 1 8 8 0
Juwan Johnson 1.9 2 1 9 4.5 0
Keith Kirkwood 0 2 0 0 0 0
Cleveland Browns
Player Fantasy Tgt Rec Yds YPT TD
Amari Cooper 13.2 10 6 72 7.2 0
Nick Chubb 11.2 1 1 10 10 0
Kareem Hunt 5.2 3 3 14 4.7 0
David Njoku 3.4 5 2 14 2.8 0
David Bell 2.8 2 1 18 9 0
Michael Woods II 1.5 1 1 5 5 0
Donovan Peoples-Jones 1.2 5 1 2 0.4 0

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