The Worksheet, a fantasy football overview by Rich Hribar, breaking down everything you need to know for the Week 16 New Orleans Saints at Cleveland Browns Saturday afternoon Christmas Eve game.
| New Orleans | Rank | @ | Cleveland | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Spread | -3 | ||
| 14.5 | Implied Total | 17.5 | ||
| 20.4 | 22 | Points/Gm | 22.4 | 13 |
| 22.5 | 17 | Points All./Gm | 23.3 | 20 |
| 59.8 | 23 | Plays/Gm | 67 | 5 |
| 64.1 | 21 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 60.9 | 7 |
| 5.8 | 10 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.4 | 16 |
| 5.1 | 8 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.6 | 19 |
| 42.89% | 15 | Rush% | 47.55% | 9 |
| 57.11% | 18 | Pass% | 52.45% | 24 |
| 44.77% | 24 | Opp. Rush % | 44.01% | 21 |
| 55.23% | 9 | Opp. Pass % | 55.99% | 12 |
- This is the lowest game total in the NFL since Week 8 of the 2007 season, when the Jaguars at Buccaneers had a 32.0 point total.
- New Orleans is a league-worst 1-5 against the spread on the road.
- Since their Week 9 bye, the Browns are 28th in the league in points per drive (1.39) after ranking fifth prior (2.31).
- 42.4% of the Cleveland drives with Deshaun Watson have failed to gain a first down or touchdown, 31st in the league over that span.
- New Orleans is last in the NFL in plays of 20 or more yards since Week 7 (19).
- The Saints haven’t had a run of 20 or more yards since Week 6, the longest drought in the league.
- The Saints have just one touchdown on seven red zone possessions (14.3%) over their past three games.
- New Orleans has allowed 4.7 yards per play over the past four weeks, the fewest in the league.
- The Saints are third in the NFL in yards per completed pass since Week 10 (12.5 yards).
- Cleveland is 27th in yards per completed pass over that span (10.2 yards).
Quarterback
Deshaun Watson: Watson has been the QB30, QB14, and QB21 since returning to the field. Running into a tough matchup in the cold last week, Watson threw for just 5.8 yards per pass attempt with a depth of target 4.6 yards downfield. That aDOT ranked 29th in the league last week.
This game is getting severely dampened early in the week due to weather concerns. It is the lowest game total we have seen since 2007 as extreme wind is anticipated. Even with us being far out and the potential that things could end up being far less severe than expected (see Buffalo last weekend), this matchup still offers little to move Watson up as more than a 2QB option. The Saints are allowing a league-low 5.8 yards per pass attempt since Week 7 with just seven passing touchdowns over that span.
