There could be snow falling on Sunday when the Philadelphia Eagles host the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs. The forecast is calling for frigid temperatures and possibly even heavy snowfall when the two teams kick off at 3 p.m. ET.
According to Weather Underground, the kickoff temperature is expected to be around 33 degrees, which would make it the second-coldest game the Eagles have hosted since the start of the 2022 season. There’s also a 99% chance of precipitation during the game, which means it’s a near certainty that snow will be falling.
The weather is expected to be so bad in Philadelphia on Sunday that the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning with the city of Philadelphia right on the edge of the warning area.
Right now, the forecast is calling for five to seven inches of snow in Philadelphia on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. However, that forecast covers the entire day. For the time between 3 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. ET, which would cover most of the game, the projection is that one to three inches will fall.
Although it will be cold and possibly snowy, one thing that might not be a huge factor is the wind. The latest estimate shows expected wind gusts of 9 to 13 mph, which likely wouldn’t play a huge factor in the kicking game. However, if those gusts get up to 15 or even 20 mph, that could be a problem for the two kickers in the game: Jake Elliott and Joshua Karty.
The snow could also be factor in the kicking game if it continues to accumulate throughout the matchup.
With the Rams coming from the West Coast, the cold weather could put them at disadvantage, but it hasn’t seemed to bother Matthew Stafford over the course of his career. Since being traded to the Rams in 2021, Stafford has only played in two games where the temperature was 40 degrees or below and he’s gone 1-1.
One of those games came in November 2021 when he threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-28 loss in Green Bay. The only other cold-weather game came back in Week 16 when Stafford threw for just 110 yards and one touchdown in a 19-9 road win over the New York Jets.
Over the course of his career, Stafford has actually played pretty well in cold weather. Stafford has only topped 500 yards once in his career and that came during Detroit’s regular-season finale back in 2011 when he threw for 520 yards IN Green Bay when the temperature was just 31 degrees. In December 2020, he also threw for 402 yards in a game where the temperature was 35 degrees at kickoff in Chicago. Those games rank first and 10th for the most passing yards in a game in Stafford’s career.
Although Stafford has been solid in cold weather, he hasn’t been great when there’s snow or rain involved. In those two elements, Stafford has a career record of 1-8 with 14 touchdown passes and 13 turnovers, according to CBS Sports research.
Stafford actually faced the Eagles in one of the most iconic regular-season snow games of all-time back in 2013, a game where he threw for just 151 yards in a 34-20 win by Philadelphia.
As for the Eagles, they went 3-1 this season in games where the temperature was 40 degrees or below, including their 22-10 wild-card playoff win over the Green Bay Packers.
With the weather expected to be cold, that could open the door for Saquon Barkley to have a big game, but that’s not necessarily a guarantee. The Eagles running back played in three games, including the playoffs, where the temperature was 40 degrees or below this season and he averaged 111.3 yards per game, which was actually below what he did in warmer games. In the 14 games where the temperature was above 40 degrees, Barkley averaged 137.7 yards per game. Barkley went off for a season-high 255 rushing yards in a 37-20 win over the Rams earlier this season, but that game was played indoors.
Barkley is the eighth player in NFL history to rush for at least 200 yards against a team in the regular season and then face that same team in the postseason. Of the previous seven players, ALL of them were held under 100 yards in the playoff meeting. You can read more about that historical trend here.
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Author: John Breech
January 19, 2025 | 12:15 pm
