The Kansas City Chiefs prepare to protect home field as they host the Miami Dolphins in the wild card round of the NFL Playoffs. It is expected that the game will be in the Chiefs favor, not due to the quality of teams matched up against each other, but because of the weather conditions the contest is expected to have.
Per the projected temperature at Arrowhead Stadium for Saturday night, it is “to be -6 degrees, prompting AccuWeather to highlight in their forecast that it's ‘potentially the coldest home playoff game in Kansas City history ‘” according to NFL.com. As the Dolphins are used to playing in the warmer climate due to their region, this could be a massive disadvantage.
However, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said to the media that he is not going to “bank on that,” which could overshadow the success the Dolphins have had all season. Poking fun at the media and the weather conditions, he expressed that the two teams Saturday won't have a “snowball fight” according to The Associated Press.
“You can’t bank on that. That’s where you get into trouble,” Reid said. “We’re not having a snowball fight.”
Reid was given the statistic that the Dolphins have lost its last 10 games when the temperature was 40 degrees or below and didn't think much of it according to The Kansas City Star. All he cares about is “getting ready for the game.”
“I don’t know how to quantify that,” Reid said. “So I just say, ‘Get ready for the game. Let’s do that.’”
Patrick Mahomes is “excited” for the weather coming
For a head coach that doesn't have the experience in that particular weather, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said the weather won't be an excuse if they lose Saturday night. McDaniel hasn't seen much of the cold besides select away games as before Miami, he was with the San Francisco 49ers.
“If we’re playing in any playoff game that isn’t at home, “it probably will be cold.” McDaniel said. “It will be the same for both teams. For us and for the individuals in the locker room, I know they will not use that as an excuse.”
Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes is actually excited about the weather projected to come on Saturday night. He said it himself that he doesn't know why, but enjoys the “adrenaline rush” it brings.
“I don’t know why. But I kind of like it,” Mahomes said to the media. “Everything’s super-slow, and I’m just like out there, just like standing straight there in the pocket. I mean, yeah, what could be better? I’d rather be playing a football game than chasing my kids around the backyard. So I’ll have a little bit of the adrenaline rush, and I’m excited for it.”
Dolphins' Durman Smythe says players have played in the cold before
Despite the Dolphins not being used to it, there are players on the team that have played a bunch of games in grueling cold weather conditions, most notably star receiver Tyreek Hill who was with the Chiefs. Miami tight end Durman Smythe who played at Notre Dame and is from Pennsylvania made this point as well.
“I don’t think it means that we are soft or scared of the elements, just because the weather is better down here,” Smythe 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.”
Kansas City will look to defend their championship from last season, but they have to go through the Dolphins first. The game will take place Saturday night, being broadcasted on the streaming service Peacock.
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