The last time the Kansas City Chiefs hosted a home playoff game, it ended up being one of the coldest in NFL history with a kickoff temperature of -4 degrees. Although things won't be that cold on Saturday, it is going to be frigid when the Chiefs host the Houston Texans to kick off the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
According to Accuweather, the high on Saturday is expected to be around 25 degrees. However, that temperature is expected to be down to 20 degrees by the time the game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. CT (4:30 p.m. ET) and the wind chill is expected to be around 7 degrees thanks to an Arctic blast that's set to hit the area on Saturday.
Big time weather changes by @chiefs kickoff Saturday!! An arctic front will push temperatures down to 20° with a 15+ MPH north wind. 🏈🥶 That means wind chills in the single digits are likely for much of the game. Stay warm #ChiefsKingdom ! @fox4kc #KCwx #MOwx #KSwx pic.twitter.com/KP2NHeGphk
— Jacob Lanier (@JacobLanierWx) January 17, 2025
If the temperature does drop down to 20 degrees by kickoff, that would make it the third-coldest game in franchise history for Houston. In December 2008, the Texans played at Green Bay in a game what as just 3 degrees at kickoff. In 2004, they played at Chicago in a game that was 12 degrees at kickoff. Surprisingly, the Texans won both games.
That being said, C.J. Stroud has struggled in cold weather. The Texans quarterback has played in two career games where the temperature was 30 degrees or below and he went 0-2 in those games.
Here's a look at how Stroud did in each game:
- NFL Divisional playoffs: Jan. 20, 2024 (27 degrees) -- Ravens 34-10 over Texans. Stroud went 19 of 33 for 175 yards with zero touchdowns and zero interceptions.
- Week 16: Dec. 21, 2024 (30 degrees) -- Chiefs 27-19 over Texans. In this game, Stroud went 23 of 39 with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
As for the Chiefs, they probably won't be fazed by the cold weather. Last season, they beat the Dolphins 26-7 in what was the fourth-coldest game in NFL history. Patrick Mahomes is also 9-1 in his past 10 starts where the temperature was 30 degrees or below.
Although Mahomes might not be bothered by the weather, it could be a rough day for the kickers. Right now, it's estimated that there could be wind gusts up to 27 mph during the game, which could create issues for both Kansas City's Harrison Butker and Houston's Ka'imi Fairbairn, and the Texans kicker could have even more trouble since he's used to kicking indoors. Fairbairn, who hit 36 of 42 field goal attempts this year, only missed four field goals from 55 yards and in during the 2024 season. However, three of those four kicks came outdoors.
