Dolphins-Chiefs wild-card game projected to be fourth coldest in NFL postseason history
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Anthony Gharib, ESPN
The Kansas City Chiefs‘ road to consecutive Super Bowls begins Saturday against the Miami Dolphins in chilly fashion.
The forecast for Saturday night is projected to reach minus-5 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Weather Channel, which would make it the coldest ever football game in Kansas City. If the game were held in Miami, temperatures would reach a low of 62 degrees with a 30% chance of rain.
There’s never been a football game in Kansas City that has reached negative temperatures. The coldest it’s ever been is 1 degree Fahrenheit with a wind chill of minus-19 during a Chiefs-Tennessee Titans game in 2016. The coldest postseason game in Kansas City happened in 1996 during an 11-degree matchup between the Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts.
If temperatures dip below 0 degrees, it will be just the sixth such instance in NFL postseason history. Here’s a look at five of the coldest NFL playoff games.
Minus-13 degrees (48-below wind chill)
Dec. 31, 1967
Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI
Known as the “Ice Bowl,” the 1967 NFL Championship reigns supreme as the coldest postseason game. The Green Bay Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 to win their 11th NFL championship game, three years before the AFL/NFL merger.
Down 17-14, Bart Starr led the Packers down the field for a winning touchdown with 16 seconds remaining. At the time of the score, temperatures had dwindled down to minus-18.
Minus-9 degrees (59-below wind chill)
Jan. 10, 1982
Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
The then-San Diego Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals squared off in arguably the coldest game in NFL history — “The Freezer Bowl.” It was a drastic change for the Chargers, who were coming off a week where they defeated the Dolphins in 80-degree weather.
With a spot in Super Bowl XVI on the line, the Bengals dominated en route to a 27-7 victory. The Chargers struggled in the cold with four fumbles and were shut out in the second half.
Minus-6 degrees (25-below wind chill)
Jan. 10, 2016
TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN
In the first Minnesota Vikings home postseason game outdoors since the 1976 NFC Championship Game, the temperature lived up to the hype.
Neither team found comfort in the cold with 19 combined points and 409 combined yards. The Seattle Seahawks wound up on top 10-9 in the NFC wild-card game after Blair Walsh missed a 27-yard field goal to win.
Minus-1 degrees (23-below wind chill)
Jan. 20, 2008
Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI
January football in Green Bay promises cold weather, and it wasn’t any different in 2008. The New York Giants and Packers faced off in an NFC Championship Game that would be the coldest ever in any other stadium except Lambeau Field.
Eli Manning led the Giants to a 23-20 win en route to a Super Bowl title. During the game in Lambeau, New York players grew worried about head coach Tom Coughlin whose cheeks didn’t take the weather well.
“His cheeks were so red I thought he was going to get frostbite forever,” then-Giants offensive tackle David Diehl told Sports Illustrated in 2017.
0 degrees (32-below wind chill)
Jan. 15, 1994
Rich Stadium, Buffalo, NY
The Buffalo Bills are in one of the coldest regions of the country but have never hosted a playoff game below 0 degrees. However, the AFC divisional game in 1994 remains the coldest ever in Bills history.
Buffalo came out on top 29-23 in a game where both teams had at least 300 total yards. The Bills would play — and lose — in their fourth straight Super Bowl two weeks later.
ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this article.
