It’s not just the time of year when play-off football gets intense. This is also when the weather reminds us that it’s winter – unless of course you’re in Florida. And both the conference games of the weekend can be influenced as such. What’s on the forecast? Which game can be most affected? Is Lambeau really going to be as cold as everyone jokes about?
We’ve looking forward to Sunday’s weather here, with forecast details courtesy of The Weather Channel:
NFC Championship
Games: Packers vs Buccaneers | Sunday, 15:05 ET
Location: Lambeau Field (Green Bay, Wisconsin)
Estimated weather: Cloudy with snow showers
Projected temperatures: 29 degrees (high), 22 degrees (low)
Chance of Snow: 50%
Wind: SSE 5-10 mph
What would play-out football be without a Packers home game in January? This is a typical Lambeau for you (cold and probably snowy), but relatively speaking on the soft side. Forecasts only project an accumulation of less than an inch during the day, so it’s not as if the grass of Green Bay will be flooded. But the radar requires a chance of 40 to 50 percent until the evening. It could certainly put pressure on the passing game from both sides, but it is also not necessarily reasonable to point out that Aaron Rodgers has the lead due to his history at Green Bay. Tom Brady, remember, played the first 20 seasons of his career in cold January games in Foxborough.
AFC Championship
Games: Chiefs vs Bills | Sunday, 18:40 ET
Location: Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, Missouri)
Estimated weather: Cloudy with showers
Projected temperatures: 45 degrees (high), 34 degrees (low)
Chance of rain: 40%
Wind: NNE 5-10 mph
The real question for Chiefs fans, of course, is whether Patrick Mahomes will even be the one to throw the football in this game. Either way, precipitation can play a factor. The wind should not be too much of a problem, but rain is very important, and if the temperature drops just a little lower than expected, it is not out of the question that rain can start to freeze. This is something to keep an eye on because both the bills and chiefs want to air it regularly. If it does rain, Buffalo could finally ask Josh Allen to rely more on his great running abilities at certain points in Sunday’s case.