{"id":344020,"date":"2025-12-14T04:59:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T04:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/344020\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T04:59:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T04:59:13","slug":"nfl-week-15-weather-polar-vortex-snow-frigid-temperatures-could-impact-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/344020\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Week 15 weather: Polar vortex, snow, frigid temperatures could impact games"},"content":{"rendered":"

December football often means playing in the elements, and while we got a bit of a taste of that in Week 14 — Josh Allen<\/a> dashing through the snow in the Bills<\/a>‘ thrilling win over the Bengals<\/a> comes to mind — we’re going to feel mother nature’s full impact in Week 15.<\/p>\n

A polar vortex from Canada will descend into the United States this weekend, creating frigid conditions in the midwest and, later, the east coast. Temperatures are expected to hover in the single digits in many areas, and that’s without factoring in wind chill and other potential adverse conditions.<\/p>\n

“This is the mother lode of cold air and is a term I don’t use lightly,” AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

NFL Week 15 viewer’s guide: Top 10 things to watch, including Super Bowl contenders and Philip Rivers comeback<\/p>\n

\n Douglas Clawson <\/p>\n

\"NFL<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

But the show will go on, at least for the NFL<\/a>, and that means teams not only dealing with the teams across from them but whatever the weather may bring.<\/p>\n

(NOTE: All weather projections are via AccuWeather)<\/p>\n

Browns<\/a> at Bears<\/a> (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)<\/p>\n

CHICAGO, IL
Sunday weather: High of 11 degrees, feels like 1 degree, wind gusts up to 22 mph<\/p>\n

Although there’s no snow in the forecast for Sunday, there could be some Friday flurries and more snow on Saturday, when the temperature plunges. Both of these teams are plenty used to playing in tough conditions considering the Browns faced the Titans<\/a> in the snow and the Bears played a frigid game against the Packers<\/a> just last week.<\/p>\n

Still, this is projected to be the coldest game Caleb Williams<\/a> has played in as an NFL quarterback. Last week, he got off to a rough start against the Packers but played a much better second half. Still, expect Chicago to lean on the run as much as possible. Chicago leads the NFL in rushing success rate this season; Cleveland ranks 31st, so there will be a decided edge for the hosts.<\/p>\n

Ravens<\/a> at Bengals (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)<\/p>\n

CINCINNATI, OH
Sunday weather: High of 12 degrees, feels like 2 degrees, wind gusts up to 17 mph<\/p>\n

Cincinnati is expected to get significant snow Friday and Saturday, but the storm should tail off before a critical AFC North game. Still, it will be a very cold day in the Queen City. Joe Burrow<\/a> played well in his first snow game, completing 25 of 36 passes for 284 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions last week in Buffalo, though it should be noted that Tee Higgins<\/a> — who had a team-high 92 receiving yards and caught two touchdowns — is in concussion protocol. Still, Burrow is 2-0 in games in which the kickoff temperature is 20 degrees or lower; that includes a 375-yard, three-touchdown game against the Patriots<\/a> back in 2022.<\/p>\n

This will likely be the coldest game of Lamar Jackson’s<\/a> career. In fact, he has only played in one game under 20 degrees — last year’s playoff loss to the Bills, in which he played very well.<\/p>\n

KANSAS CITY, MO
Sunday weather: High of 23 degrees, feels like 23 degrees, wind gusts up to 10 mph<\/p>\n

The conditions won’t be quite as brutal in Kansas City, but the Chargers will certainly feel far from their sunny southern California home for several reasons. This will be their first game played in freezing-or-below temperatures since a 2019 playoff game at the Patriots. Philip Rivers<\/a> was the starting quarterback (and he might be starting again this week for another team!) Antonio Gates<\/a> was still in the NFL. The team was still more than a year away from drafting Justin Herbert<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs, on the other hand, are very used to the cold. Patrick Mahomes<\/a> is 16-4 in games played at 32 degrees or colder, including a 12-2 mark at home games in those temperatures. They did, however, lose at home last week against the Texans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bills at Patriots (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)<\/p>\n

FOXBOROUGH, MA
Sunday weather: High of 32 degrees, feels like 22 degrees, 1-3 inches of snow, wind gusts up to 21 mph<\/p>\n

Another snow game for Josh Allen, trying to keep his team’s AFC East hopes alive — or at the very least not lose ground in the Wild Card chase? And he’s facing Drake Maye<\/a>, one of this season’s biggest breakout star? Count me in.<\/p>\n

Josh Allen in six career snow games (incl. playoffs)<\/p>\n

Rank (since 2000)<\/p>\n

Wins<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

1st<\/p>\n

Touchdowns accounted for<\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

1st<\/p>\n

Touchdowns scored<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

1st<\/p>\n

Rushing yards<\/p>\n

294<\/p>\n

2nd<\/p>\n

When Josh Allen’s career wraps up, I hope they have a special section of highlights dedicated to just snow games.<\/p>\n

Colts<\/a> at Seahawks<\/a> (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)<\/p>\n

SEATTLE, WA
Sunday weather: High of 56 degrees, 80% chance of rain<\/p>\n

Seattle is dealing with a completely different weather issue: rain. Back-to-back atmospheric rivers have resulted in historic flooding in the Pacific Northwest<\/a>. Washington governor Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency Wednesday<\/a>, and some areas of the state are under evacuation orders.<\/p>\n

The Seahawks have played in plenty of rain-drenched games. That’s the nature of playing in Seattle. But the Colts, who call indoor Lucas Oil Stadium home, have played in just one game this season with “rain” listed as the kickoff temperature: last week’s disastrous 36-19 loss to the Jaguars<\/a> that saw Daniel Jones<\/a> suffer a season-ending Achilles tear<\/a>. With Anthony Richardson<\/a> (eye) out and Riley Leonard<\/a> suffering a knee injury after coming in following Jones’ injury, he team signed 44-year-old<\/a> Philip Rivers to its practice squad this week, and he could start. Whoever is behind center, he will be playing in brutal conditions against one of the league’s best defenses.<\/p>\n

PITTSBURGH, PA
Monday weather: High of 22 degrees, feels like 12 degrees, wind gusts up to 18 mph, slight chance of precipitation<\/p>\n

Thanks to years in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers<\/a> is plenty experienced in the cold.<\/p>\n

Tua Tagovailoa<\/a> is, too, but he has struggled infamously in it when he has to leave Miami.<\/p>\n

Tua Tagovailoa under 40 degrees (incl. playoffs)<\/p>\n

W-L<\/p>\n

0-5<\/p>\n

TD<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Turnovers<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Team point diff<\/p>\n

-96<\/p>\n

Miami has made a recent run to get on the edges of playoff contention, but it will need Tagovailoa to reverse his cold-weather struggled to have a shot Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"December football often means playing in the elements, and while we got a bit of a taste of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[1754,15872,12666,1742,150178,150179,150180,1748,49,1755,48,1735,1740,1724,1765,2221,1730,1737,1732,1725,2213,2212,2219,1727,2211,2210,1720,1718,514,150175,150176,150172,150173,2218,12662,949,132791,46942,1739,82,3152,1741,2220,150177,150174],"class_list":["post-344020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-aaron-rodgers","tag-anthony-richardson","tag-antonio-gates","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-bears-weather","tag-bengals-weather","tag-bills-weather","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-ca","tag-caleb-williams","tag-canada","tag-chicago-bears","tag-cincinnati-bengals","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-daniel-jones","tag-drake-maye","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-houston-texans","tag-indianapolis-colts","tag-jacksonville-jaguars","tag-joe-burrow","tag-josh-allen","tag-justin-herbert","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-lamar-jackson","tag-los-angeles-chargers","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-snow-games","tag-nfl-temperatures","tag-nfl-weather","tag-nfl-week-15-weather","tag-patrick-mahomes","tag-philip-rivers","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-polar-vortex","tag-riley-leonard","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-sports","tag-tee-higgins","tag-tennessee-titans","tag-tua-tagovailoa","tag-weather-effect-nfl-fantasy","tag-will-it-snow-in-nfl-week-15"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}