How will Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens handle Buffalo football weather?
Jan 16, 2025
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) — "When it's too cold for them, it's just right for us," Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy would say to rally the Buffalo Bills before a wintry playoff game.
Kickoff temperature around 17 degrees, with wind chill making it feel below 10, is forecasted for Sunday night's AFC divisional playoff game at Highmark Stadium. The Bills have played in cold conditions before, and some prefer it that way.
"Playing here in our stadium is one of the hardest environments to play in, especially in the playoffs," Bills offensive lineman Spencer Brown said. "Think it's about to be 8 degrees. Hopefully 40 mph winds and 3 feet of snow. That's what I want."
How might the weather affect the visiting Baltimore Ravens?
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Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who wore a hood under his helmet and winter hat on the sideline when the Ravens beat the Bills in 60-degree weather in September, has a 3-1 record in games that kicked off at 32 degrees or below. That includes last week's wild-card playoff victory against the Steelers and Week 18 against the Browns. But Jackson, a Florida native who played college football in Louisville, Kentucky, has never played in a game when it was colder than 27 degrees.
Bills counterpart Josh Allen is 13-3 playing in below-freezing temperature, and 4-0 below 20 degrees. That includes a flawless performance three years ago in the wild-card playoff victory against the Patriots when kickoff temperature was 7 degrees and wind chill was near 0.
"Hopefully, we'll have some heaters on the sideline. A bigger jacket probably," Jackson told reporters in Baltimore, adding that he does not plan to wear gloves Sunday. "The equipment guys, they pretty much do a great job. So we should be good."
Baltimore coach Jim Harbaugh has a 13-9 record in games when the temperature is below 32 degrees, slightly worse than his .619 career win percentage, but better than his .565 mark in the playoffs. Buffalo's Sean McDermott is 14-2 in such games, which the team says is the best record of any NFL coach since 1991. That .875 win percentage is much better than McDermott's success (.615) when the temperature is above 32 degrees.
The Ravens are practicing indoors this week because frozen field conditions in Owing Mills, Maryland, where the temperature was around 30 degrees.
"We got it as cold as we can in here, and it will be colder (Thursday) when I get all the water shut off, so the pipes don’t freeze," Harbaugh said. "We’ve had a lot of work in the cold, a lot of work in the wind. And the elements are part of it."
Harbaugh added the Ravens need to find their footing on the synthetic turf at Highmark Stadium that gets more slippery in cold conditions. The Bills have practiced indoors so far this week, but could go out on the stadium field Friday, as they did prior to last week's wild-card playoff game.
Harbaugh referenced the legendary NFL Films voice that delivered the famed "frozen tundra of Lambeau Field" line when discussing the atmosphere for Sunday's game.
"I can picture John Facenda coming down from the heavens," he said.
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.