The Associated Press

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Bills defensive end Chris Kelsay doesn’t need a meteorologist to know the forecast for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns: a mix of snow, rain and a good chance of Peyton Hillis.

Snow and rain he can deal with.

“I would expect nothing less,” Kelsay said, aware there’s a chance of a blizzard blowing in off of Lake Erie this weekend.

Handling Hillis, the Browns young and powerful running back, now there’s the true test.

“I think it’s going to be a game where they come in here and pound the football and see how we’ll hold up against it,” Kelsay said. “And we haven’t held up against the run very well the last couple of weeks.”

Try all year. The Bills (2-10) are allowing a league-worst 171 yards rushing and have given up 200 yards six times this season.

And Hillis is no slouch. In his first season in Cleveland (5-7), the bruising back leads the team with 962 yards rushing with 13 touchdowns (11 rushing, two receiving). He has accounted for more than half of the Browns’ 25 touchdowns, and also leads the team with 53 catches.

If the Browns are intent on showing they’re finally turning the corner, then this is an opportune chance to inch closer to .500 for the first time since ending the 2007 season at 10-6.

“I think we’re making some strides in terms of learning how to win consistently,” said Mangini, in his second year on the job. “What we’re looking to do is build each week, just like Buffalo is building each week.”

The Browns seem to have the edge. They’ve won four of six, including consecutive wins at New Orleans and at home to New England, and are coming off a 13-10 win at Miami.

The Bills aren’t there yet, and will miss the playoffs for an 11th straight season.

In what’s turned out to be yet another rebuilding season, this time under new coach Chan Gailey, the Bills lost their first eight games before beating Detroit and Cincinnati in consecutive weeks. Buffalo had been playing competitive during a 2-4 stretch — all four losses decided by 3 points — before a 38-14 collapse at Minnesota last week.

Gailey’s curious to see whether the loss to the Vikings was a blip or a reminder of how far his team still has to go.

“For the three weeks prior to that, we would’ve said we weren’t that far away,” Gailey said. “So if it was a one-game anomaly, then that’s what it was. If we continue to slide then, yeah, it probably is a reminder that we’re not there yet.”

The Bills will have a patchwork offensive line. They are minus two starters and guard Eric Wood takes over at center because Geoff Hangartner hurt his right knee last week.

The Browns have their own troubles — at quarterback. Jake Delhomme is expected to make his third straight start over rookie Colt McCoy, who is still nursing an ankle injury.

Without playoffs out of the picture for both teams, the game still could be entertaining. It’s the fourth matchup between these teams who share a Lake Erie shoreline, a reputation as perennial losers and a recent history of bizarre events.

There was their snow bowl in Cleveland in 2007, which the Browns won 8-0 while playing in whiteout conditions. Things were so bad that the Bills had stay overnight in Cleveland and were eventually forced to bus home the next day after their plane got stuck in the mud off the runway.

Then there was last year’s meeting at Orchard Park, in which the Browns won 6-3 despite quarterback Derek Anderson completing 2 of 17 passes for 23 yards.

“That still sticks in our craw a bit, the way they beat us,” Kelsay said.

Not so in Cleveland, where Mangini fondly referred to it as “an instant classic,” in part because it marked his first win since taking over the Browns, and following the team’s 0-4 start.

Add in Cleveland nearly squandering a 13-point fourth quarter lead in a 29-27 win at Buffalo in 2008, and who knows what might happen Sunday.

“Over the years, there’s always been something to this game,” Bills receiver Lee Evans said. “So this weekend shouldn’t be any different.”

The chance of snow doesn’t surprise Browns kicker Phil Dawson.

“A road trip to Buffalo in December,” Dawson said. “First of all, can we get there?”

The way Hillis has been carrying the team, he might just pull them all the way.

“Nah, I ain’t worried about it,” Hillis said. “Hot, cold, whatever. I’m ready to play.”