As a frigid Wild Card Weekend showdown looms in Kansas City, former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III couldn’t remain silent.
The Miami Dolphins will visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday amid record cold for the playoffs. Weather already forced one game to move with the Pittsburgh Steelers–Buffalo Bills game moving to Monday because of Sunday’s winter storm.
“The Dolphins-Chiefs game should be postponed too,” Griffin wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “-1 degree weather, with wind chills of -30 degrees, snow and 29 mph winds IS NOT SAFE for players or fans and IS NOT FOOTBALL WEATHER.”
ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques reported, according to an NFL source, that the league won’t postpone the Saturday night primetime game. It won’t mark the coldest NFL playoff game ever, either.
That distinction goes to “The Ice Bowl” in 1967 between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Those two teams played in -13 degrees and a -48 wind chill, according to The All-Pro J.A.F.FO’s on X.
“With far less technology,” The All-Pro J.A.F.FO’s wrote. “Not necessarily disagreeing with the safety aspect, but it’s not impossible.”
For Saturday, the NFL is taking precautions for the players and staff, Louis-Jaques wrote. The Chiefs are also taking precautions for the fans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
“There are no public safety travel concerns for getting to the stadium for fans, the clubs, stadium personnel or public authorities,” the league source said via Louis-Jacques.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes expressed his own concern about the weather with a repost of fan safety tips from the stadium’s X account. There will be warming stations, and fans need to “bundle up”, “stay hydrated”, and “drink a warm beverage”, the post states.
Dolphins Linebacker: ‘Just Embrace It’
Dolphins linebacker Duke Riley downplayed the weather earlier in the week when talked with reporters on Sunday after a Week 18 loss to Bills.
“Just embrace it,” Riley told reporters via the Dolphins’ website transcript. “Regardless if it is 100 degrees here in Miami or zero degrees wherever it is at, I’m going to be high energy. I’m going to be loving it and enjoying it. At the end of the day, it’s a chance for a lot of people to make a household name for themselves.”
“The weather doesn’t really matter,” Riley added. “The place doesn’t really matter. What matters is the mindset of everybody in the room and on the team, and how consistent can we be and the effort we give. That’s really all that’s going to matter.”
The Dolphins come into the game banged up after two-straight losses to playoff teams. Only Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard will sit out, but a dearth of players remain questionable on Thursday’s final injury report.
Chiefs’ Andy Reid Claims No Disadvantage for Dolphins
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid downplayed the home field advantage with the cold.
That’s despite the Dolphins’ atrocious record in cold weather. Miami has 10-straight losses when it’s 40 degrees or colder plus a 3-7 all-time record when it’s 23 degrees or colder at kickoff according to The Associated Press.
“You can’t bank on that. That’s where you get into trouble. We’re not having a snowball fight,” Reid told reporters on Thursday.
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Former NFL Quarterback Sounds Off on Chiefs-Dolphins Weather