Like much of the Midwest, Kansas City has been battered by winter weather, with brutal colds and snowfalls expected to continue throughout the week. Saturday brings a Mother Nature freeze-out that could plunge temperatures into the record books for a Chiefs game.
The temperature for Saturday night's kickoff between the Chiefs and Dolphins is currently projected to be -6 degrees, prompting AccuWeather to highlight in their forecast that it's "potentially the coldest home playoff game in Kansas City history."
The Kansas City Star reported this week that the coldest game at Arrowhead in Chiefs history was .5 degrees on Dec. 18, 1983, a 48-17 Chiefs win over Denver. The lowest for a playoff game was 11 degrees (Jan. 7, 1996, a Chiefs 10-7 loss to the Colts).
Forecasts can change, but if things hold, with winds at 9 mph with gusts expected to rise to 22 mph, Arrowhead could feel like -20 with the wind chill.
The frigid temperatures figure to favor the Chiefs as the Dolphins practice in 70-degree weather in Miami this week, but K.C. head coach Andy Reid dismissed the presumption.
"You can't bank on that. That's where you get into trouble," Reid said, via The Associated Press. "We're not having a snowball fight."
The Dolphins have fought the notion this week that the brutal temperatures will be a massive disadvantage. Plenty of Miami players grew up, played college ball, or, like Tyreek Hill, in the pros in cold-weather cities.
"I don't think it means that we are soft or scared of the elements, just because the weather is better down here," Dolphins tight end Durham Smythe, a Pennsylvania native who played at Notre Dame, said. "The guys in that locker room, obviously, we come from all over, too. It's not like we all lived here in Miami our entire lives. We've dealt with elements before."
Dolphins linebacker David Long, a Cincinnati native, said playing in the cold shows a different mentality.
"A lot of people don't want to get hit, or hit in cold weather. It hurts a little more," Long said. "And that's when you see what types of players you have on your team. How much do you love it? How much do you want to get to that certain point as a team?"
