OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens were going to send scouts to Kansas City for Saturday night’s Chiefs-Dolphins wild-card game but scrapped those plans because of a strong winter storm.
The rest of the Ravens can relax at home after Saturday’s practice because they earned a bye in the first round of the AFC playoffs.
The Ravens recorded their most exciting postseason win in tough weather conditions in the 2012 divisional playoff game in Denver that was played on January 12th, 2013. The temperature was 13 degrees at kickoff, which set a record for the coldest postseason game at Mile High Stadium. No one noticed the conditions when quarterback Joe Flacco connected on a 70-yard pass to Jacoby Jones with less than a minute left that led to a 38-35 overtime victory.
Weather conditions already have affected this weekend’s games.
The Bills-Steelers playoff game at Highmark Stadium was moved to 4:30 p.m. Monday because a major winter storm is forecast for western New York throughout the weekend. That means the Ravens won’t know who they’re playing in the divisional round until sometime late Monday.
This also means the Ravens won’t know who they’re hosting in the divisional round until Monday night.
“Due to public safety concerns in light of the ongoing weather emergency in western New York, Sunday’s Steelers-Bills game has been rescheduled to Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by CBS,” the NFL said in a statement. “The decision to move the game to Monday was made in consultation with New York Governor Kathy Hochul in the best interest of public safety, and with the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers, as the region prepares for the storm.”
Kansas City is expected to have a windchill between 15 to 35 degrees below zero for the wild-card game against the Dolphins on Saturday night.
The 1967 “Ice Bowl” in Green Bay between the Packers and Cowboys is the coldest game on record, with temperatures between -12°F to -14°F and windchills ranging from 33- to 37-below zero.
“My goodness. I thought the Denver playoff game in 2012 was cold,” Harbaugh said. “I know it was because I couldn’t speak. I was trying to say, ‘Field goal.’ [Special teams coach/specialists] Randy Brown asks me all the time. He says, ‘You got the F out.’ It’s like, ‘Well, what did you think I was trying to say? Time for a field goal.’
“It’s going to be interesting in Kansas City. It’s going to be very interesting. We have some scouts whose flights have been canceled going out there who were trying to get out there to scout the game, which is legal in pro football, by the way.”