NFL Playoffs: the wild card round arrives with a cold that promises to be historic and crosses worthy of Hollywood

The hottest moment of the season has arrived NFL, and with freezing temperatures. This is what North American meteorologists predict for this weekend of snow and wind with thermometers that could break every world record. soccer.

In buffalowhere Josh Allen’s Bills will be favored against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the threat of a storm forced roads to be cut off and local fans were allowed to travel to the stadium in battery-powered thermal clothing. There it is expected to be 20 degrees below zero and freezing gusts that promise to be the protagonists of television programmes.

So much snow is accumulating inside the Bills stadium and in its surroundings that in the last few hours they have launched an appeal so that this Saturday at 10pm (local time), the night before the game, anyone who wants to earn a few dollars can come and give a hand.

In exchange for 20 US dollars an hour, free snacks and food, the idea is to spend all night and Sunday morning shoveling snow.

But the worst seems to have occurred in Kansas Citya city where temperatures close to 25 degrees below zero are expected this Saturday night, a value that can equal the coldest match of all time, when on 31 December 1967 -25 degrees were recorded and a sensational sensation. Camp Lambeauthe legendary Green Bay Packers stadium.

Behind that cold day lies another that is still remembered today, the -23 degrees of January 10, 1982, again for the playoffs, at the Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, where the thermal sensation reached a currently unattainable goal: 50 degrees below zero. It was called the Freezer Bowl and archive images show the cold that players and fans suffered.

In addition to blankets and bottles of coffee, NFL fans should bring popcorn to games. The fact is that some games are also fraught with morbidity, with stars facing their former teams, rookies looking to hit and three teams dreaming of playing in their first Super Bowl: Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions AND Houston Texans.

Goff and Stafford, crossed destinies

Jared Goff, the first-round draft pick who could never take the Rams to the top in five seasons. Matthew Stafford, another first choice pick who in 12 years has never managed to change the face of the Lions marked by defeat. And a trade that changed the course of two franchises.

On Sunday night, Stafford and Goff will have the opportunity to prove their former team made the wrong decision on March 18, 2021, when the Rams sent Goff and three draft picks to Detroit in exchange for Stafford’s services.

Or maybe it was the right decision.

From then on, it took Stafford a year to deliver the Super Bowl trophy to Sean McVay and the Rams. And since then, Goff has given the Lions something they haven’t had in more than 30 years: a division title.

Now, as fate would have it, Stafford’s first game in Detroit (12-5) will be against the quarterback he was traded for and for the right to stay alive.

“I’m no stranger to this situation, and I understand that I’m the bad guy coming back to town,” Stafford said. “They’re on the other team and they won’t want me to succeed. So whatever happens, it will be an experience for me.”

For Goff, however, the game is about much more than showing the Rams (10-7) that they made a mistake by eliminating him. It’s a historical question. It’s been 32 years since the Lions have won a playoff game, and now that they have the fifth-best offense in the NFL and a head coach in Dan Campbell who isn’t afraid to take risks, the opportunity is before them.

The Rams, meanwhile, have defied the odds all season and will have to do so again on Sunday. Down three points from the odds, Los Angeles has won seven of its last eight games of the season – its only loss was in overtime to Baltimore – so it will take more than nostalgia and movie history to stop them.

The Kansas champion awaits Tyreek Hill

Tyreek Hill can expect anything from his return to Kansas City except a warm welcome. Certainly it will not be well received and, without a doubt, conditions will be anything but warm.

The NFL’s leading receiver (1,799 yards) spent the first six years of his career with the Chiefs and won a Super Bowl in 2019 before being traded to the Dolphins for the 2022 season. He hasn’t returned to Kansas City since then, where he received a cold reception. waiting for you. Frozen, rather.

The forecast calls for temperatures between -17.7 and -22 degrees Saturday night in Kansas City. Adverse conditions for both fans and players, and perhaps devastating for the Dolphins who have a 0-10 record in games with the mercury below 4 degrees Celsius since 2017.

But just because Hill isn’t well received doesn’t mean he won’t be missed in Kansas City.

The Chiefs’ offense has taken a huge step back during the current season, ranking just above the league average in points and particularly suffering from their aerial performance. Patrick Mahomes’ strengths were squandered by a Kansas City receiving corps that led the entire NFL with 44 dropped passes.

Hill, meanwhile, has been a vital part of the NFL’s most prolific passing attack. “Cheetah” finished with 119 receptions, 13 of which were touchdowns, and topped 100 yards in half of his regular season games. Now, the challenge will be to produce against the second-best defense in the NFL.

Although Kansas City stopped being the scoring machine in Mahomes’ first five years as a starter, it now has other weapons. Some that come in very handy when you have vertical dolphins in front of you. The Chiefs have not allowed more than 27 points in any game this season nor have they given up more than 259 passing yards to a quarterback all year.

The rest of the games in the Wild Card round

The wild card round of the playoffs begins Saturday afternoon, when the Browns (11-6) travel to the Texans (10-7) at home. For Cleveland, quarterback Joe Flacco has seven career road wins in the postseason, the most all-time, tied with Tom Brady. Houston, for its part, led by rookie CJ Stroud, became the first team in the Super Bowl era to win its division with a quarterback and head coach in their first year in the NFL.

The action continues at noon Sunday with the Steelers (10-7) visiting Buffalo (11-6). Defensive Player of the Year candidate TJ Watt is ruled out with a knee injury and Pittsburgh is just 1-10 without Watt in the lineup. For the Bills, Josh Allen has scored at least three touchdowns in three of his last four postseason starts.

Later Sunday, Green Bay (9-8) travels to Dallas (12-5). The Packers have won 9 of the last 10 meetings against the Cowboys, including two in the playoffs. Dallas coach Mike McCarthy led the Packers for 13 seasons in which he won a Super Bowl – in Dallas – and led the team to nine postseason trips.

The first round of the postseason concludes Monday night, when Tampa Bay (9-8) hosts the defending NFC champion Eagles (11-6). Philadelphia has lost five of its last six regular schedule games, during which time it has allowed 30.3 points per game. The Buccaneers have won five of their last six games of the season, in which they have averaged 22.6 points.