Weather has been a big part of the story late in the regular season and through the playoffs. Even in Baltimore and the Bay Area.
The Baltimore Ravens played a rainy, sloppy game in Week 18 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. There were eight fumbles in that game. The Steelers won 17-10, though the Ravens sat some key starters because they had their bye locked up. Last week’s divisional round game was cold for Baltimore, with a wind chill of 15 degrees.
The San Francisco 49ers struggled in the rain last week. Quarterback Brock Purdy in particular had a hard time with his grip on the ball. The 49ers survived the rainy conditions and beat the Green Bay Packers, but it wasn’t easy.
The Ravens host the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game and the 49ers host the Detroit Lions. Can we expect better weather?
More rain in Baltimore?
It would be good to get a clear weather game for the matchup between Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson in the AFC championship game, but that might not be the case.
According to Yahoo Weather, there’s a 55% chance of rain on Sunday. The forecasted high temperature on Sunday is 45 degrees with a low of 35.
It’s only supposed to be light rain, according to the Weather Channel, with winds from 10-15 mph. Given that the Chiefs have played two very cold games, including the fourth-coldest game in NFL history in the wild-card round, a little bit of rain with temperatures in the high 30s or low 40s isn’t all that bad.
Clear forecast for 49ers
The 49ers will be happy about the forecast in Santa Clara, where the 49ers’ stadium is located. According to Yahoo Weather, it will be a high of 74 degrees with zero chance of precipitation. That’s a really nice day, especially for the fans who sat through the rain last week.
Purdy was clearly impacted by the rain on some throws, missing passes he normally would make.
“Yeah, there was some times where I was dropping back and the ball’s a little wet from the grass, and yeah, sort of affected some accuracy and stuff,” Purdy said, via NFL.com. “But dude, that’s football, so I’ve got to be better in that area.”
The Lions are probably happy about the forecast too. Even though they play in Michigan, they play in a dome. Though they have a tough offensive line and good run game, so perhaps they wouldn’t mind a rainy game with a Super Bowl spot on the line.
Either way, weather shouldn’t impact the NFC championship game. It probably won’t have a big impact on the AFC game either. The teams involved won’t complain.
