KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Saturday night’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins is expected to be one of the coldest games in the history of the NFL.
The game takes place Saturday night at 7 p.m. CST. The air temperature at kickoff is expected to be around 0 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill factor of minus-22 degrees, CNN reported. The National Weather Service said that the temperature Saturday afternoon in Kansas City is about 5 degrees. The current record for the coldest high temperature for Kansas City on Jan. 13 was 9 degrees in 1982.
If the game was held in Miami instead of Kansas City, the temperatures would have been a low of 62 degrees and there would have been a 30% chance of rain, according to ESPN. The Dolphins would have hosted a playoff game had they defeated Buffalo in the final week of the regular season, but lost 21-14, sending Miami on the road and allowing the Bills to host a playoff game. Buffalo’s scheduled game Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers was moved to Monday night due to extremely cold conditions in Buffalo.
The National Weather Service called the temperatures in Kansas City “dangerously cold” with wind chills. According to The Associated Press, that could make forecasted temperatures at minus-2 degrees Fahrenheit. Kickoff could feel like minus 24.
“We definitely had that initial shock when we looked at the forecast,” said Chiefs season ticket holder Keaton Schlatter, who was driving down from West Des Moines, Iowa, for Saturday night’s game, according to the AP. “We thought about maybe posting our tickets for sale and if they don’t sell, then we would go. But we decided that it’s all part of the experience and we didn’t want to miss it.”
“Trying to figure out what to wear that will be the warmest has been the concerning part,” said Lauren Bays, a Chiefs fan from Smithville, Missouri, according to the AP. “I’ve been thinking of ways to add warmth all week and did find a pair of ski goggles that I plan to wear.”
The last coldest NFL game was the 2007 NFC title game between the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers with a minus-3 at kickoff, according to the AP. The Giants won that game 23-20. The coldest game ever was minus-13 for the 1967 NFL championship between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. The wind chill on that day was reportedly minus-48 degrees and that game became known as the Ice Bowl.
The NFL game with the coldest wind chill factor was the Jan. 10, 1982, playoff contest between the host Cincinnati Bengals and the San Diego Chargers. The temperature at kickoff was minus-9 degrees at Riverfront Stadium, but the wind chill factor was minus-59, according to NFL.com.
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