This years NFL playoffs have been plagued by snow and bad weather. As the NFL playoffs came into the Conference Championship, so did the snow. We all know that over the past weekend the Eastern Seaboard was slammed by one of the biggest snow storms in history. With areas receiving up to 30 inches of snow, many cities experienced delays and transportation issues all throughout last weekend. With the final 2 playoff games before the Super Bowl happening the same weekend, miserable playing conditions occurred. This wasn’t the first time that the 2015-2016 playoffs have been critical in a game. The Seattle Seahawks took on the Minneapolis Vikings in one of the coldest games in NFL history on January 10. With an initial temperature of -6 degrees Fahrenheit, and -25 degrees with the wind chill. The conditions were so bad that many players have revealed that both their fingers and toes were frostbitten from the frigid Wild Card game that was won on a missed field goal.
With the Conference Championship round of the playoffs bringing the final four teams to meet head to head for a spot in the Super Bowl, weather again played a factor. In the image, the Carolina Panthers powerhouse offense has brought to a cold stop due to snowy and icy practice conditions all week leading up to their game against the Arizona Cardinals. When game time came, piles of snow were lined along the field as the below freezing temperatures again set in for the Panthers battle against the Cardinals. The Panthers and Cardinals are both very strong offenses with immense passing attacks that were uncharecteristically slow throughout the game. Both teams had to rely heavily on their running backs and short passing game due to the cold and slick conditions on the field which made deep passes significantly more difficult for teams to complete. The Panthers came out strong and had a dominant 49-15 win over the Cardinals. A major part of the Panthers win was the fact that they forced SIX turnovers against one of the NFL’s strongest offenses. When the Cardinals got down early, Carson Palmer an the offense tried to get the passing game going which failed miserably due to poor conditions and the overall outstanding performance of the Panthers D.
A reoccurring theme this postseason has been the weather having a big impact on both the way the games have been played and the outcomes of the game. The ice, snow, and cold have all been some of teams biggest factors not just in this years playoffs, but in NFL history. Either the Ice Bowl in 1967 or the Brady Tuck game in 2001, weather games have surely provided some of the most intense and memorable games in playoff history. This years weather games did not disappoint. With Vikings kicker Blair Walsh missing a chip shot in sub-zero temperatures to the Cardinals six turnover game, the NFL playoffs could have completely different outcomes under different weather conditions.
