Forecast for Next Round of NFL Playoffs: More Havoc

After inclement weather made NFL history on multiple fronts during wild-card weekend, Mother Nature is continuing to disrupt the playoffs heading into the divisional round.

The Buffalo Bills host the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday, and they were already set to play on two fewer days’ rest than their opponents since their first-round matchup was delayed until Monday. Now, the Bills could be facing the prospect of canceling some practices this week as more heavy snow hits Western New York. 

Buffalo does have an indoor practice center, but the incoming conditions may make it unsafe for players to travel from their homes to the facility. The Buffalo Sabres have postponed Wednesday night’s matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks until Thursday due to the weather. The Bills practiced Wednesday but remain in limbo for the rest of the week. “We’ll reset the table tonight and keep working on the game plan and also work on our weather plan,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said Wednesday.

Weather is unlikely to force a postponement of Sunday’s game, but the temperature at kickoff is forecasted to drop below freezing. Meanwhile, when the Ravens host the Houston Texans in Baltimore on Saturday night, temperatures could be in the teens. 

The sub-freezing forecasts come as dozens of fans are recovering from the fourth-coldest game in NFL history, which took place at Arrowhead Stadium last Saturday night. First responders in Kansas City fielded nearly 70 calls from fans at the game, and 15 fans were hospitalized—seven for hypothermia and three for frostbite.

Cracking Up

After a section of Patrick Mahomes’s helmet shattered during the Chiefs’ win over the Dolphins, the star quarterback blamed the malfunction, at least in part, on the cold weather. VICIS, the maker of Mahomes’s helmet, said that the equipment “did its job” in protecting the QB but admitted that extreme conditions like the cold in Kansas City are “bound to test the limits” of its products.