Weather has been a big story so far in the early stages of the 2023 NFL Playoffs. The Wild Card Round saw a postponement of a game due to a brutal snow storm, and a completely different game featured the third-lowest temperature for a game in the history of the league.
How Will Weather Affect This Weekend’s NFL Games?
We’re going to need some snow shovelers (again)!
Help get Highmark Stadium ready for our Divisional Round playoff game: https://t.co/RrZ6jux79r pic.twitter.com/eSFRDLLsEl
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 18, 2024
It will be a factor this weekend, too. The forecasts for the various cities in which NFL Divisional Round games will be played on Saturday and Sunday feature some adverse weather, and we could see the effects of Mother Nature in full force on both days.
The first pair of games on Saturday will both feature tough conditions. A snow storm in Baltimore is supposed to let up well before game time, but the temperatures will be below 30 for kickoff between the Ravens and Texans, and 15-20 MPH winds are expected. There will be rain all weekend in Santa Clara, meaning that the Packers and 49ers will have elements to deal with as well.
But what about Sunday? Here is the forecast for the second half of the slate of NFL games this weekend:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Detroit Lions – 3PM
No Weather – Dome
Skies will be partly cloudy in Detroit during the game between the Lions and Buccaneers, but no one inside Ford Field will have any idea. The Lions play in a domed stadium and are unaffected by the elements, but don’t tell that to the reporter who asked Tampa head coach Todd Bowles about how his team plans to deal with potential inclement weather this weekend.
A reporter asked Todd Bowles how the Bucs are preparing for the weather in Detroit this weekend.
Here’s the thing…..the game is being played in a dome. Just like every Lions game has been played for the past 50 years. @BSMotorCity pic.twitter.com/ipbQBHIFWo
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 17, 2024
Kansas City Chiefs @ Buffalo Bills – 6:30PM
Cloudy to partly cloudy skies. Winds 10-15 MPH
Game Time Temp: 21 degrees
The wintry conditions will once again be a factor for the Buffalo Bills. Or perhaps more so for their opponents.
Last week, the Orchard Park area was hit with a brutal snow storm, one that dropped nearly two feet of fresh powder in the hours leading up to the Wild Card game between the Bills and Steelers.
There was enough accumulation to warrant the NFL to postpone the game. In order to give crews ample time to clear the field and stands, the contest was pushed back from Sunday afternoon to Monday, and even then, not all of the snow could be removed before kickoff.
There is another storm hitting Buffalo this weekend, but things won’t be nearly as bad this time around. The forecast for Orchard Park calls for clear skies during the game, but there will be snow piles lining the field and the very real potential for snowballs being thrown at the opposition.
The temperatures at game time are expected to be in the low-20s, making this a true cold weather NFL matchup.
Neither team should have much of a weather-related advantage. The Bills are certainly used to playing in the elements, but Kansas City is no stranger to harsh conditions, especially coming off of playing in the third-coldest game in league history just last week.
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