The Ravens’ rushing attack should benefit from colder temperatures during Sunday’s Divisional round matchup.
For the entire week leading up to the Ravens’ AFC Divisional matchup with the Bills, players have been repeatedly asked about the impact of the weather.
For some, like Canada-born defenders Tavius Robinson and Brent Urban, Sunday’s cold temperatures will be business as usual. Isaiah Likely, originally from Cambridge, Massachusetts, said he’s “been playing in the cold since he was a baby.”
The list goes on: Rashod Bateman and Daniel Faalele both played in Minnesota in college. Tyler Linderbaum went to Iowa, Patrick Ricard to Maine, and Travis Jones to UConn. Players like Roquan Smith, Kyle Van Noy, and Michael Pierce all had NFL stints in cold-weather states.
Even for the large contingent of Ravens who grew up and/or went to college in the south, the cold weather isn’t a threat. Lamar Jackson has played in two games at sub-freezing conditions, in which he’s completed 29 of 46 passing attempts for 299 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. That’s good for a 110.69 passer rating, eight points above his career average.
The first game was a relatively pedestrian performance (by Jackson’s standards) against the Chiefs during his rookie year. The second was last year’s rout of the Texans in the Divisional Round, featuring a 121.8 passer rating (second-best of his postseason career after last week’s mark of 132.0) as well as 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries. Jackson was also excellent against the Browns and the Steelers at near-freezing temperatures in the last month.
Jackson’s South Florida roots have given him a healthy disdain for the cold. His comically-large jacket has become a staple of his wardrobe in the winter. Anytime he’s not actively quarterbacking, he’s bundled up tight. Jackson is planning to wear a “bigger jacket” on Sunday with hopes of space heaters on the sidelines, but he won’t wear gloves (“I tried that in practice, I was horrible”).
“I’m trying to win, so it really doesn’t matter,” said Jackson of the projected weather.
The cold might matter more to the defenders trying to tackle Jackson and his backfield partner, Derrick Henry. The Bills already folded in Week 4 when trying to bring down the 247-pound running back. On Sunday, every broken tackle attempt and jarring stiff-arm will hurt that much more, turning the Ravens’ rushing attack into a war of attrition against a Buffalo defense that prefers light personnel. Dominating time of possession and keeping them on the field will wear them down over the course of four quarters, giving Baltimore a physical and mental edge late in the game.
Of course, the Bills are used to this. Their 14-2 record under Sean McDermott in sub-freezing temperatures leads the NFL since 1991. But their usual advantage should be nullified by Baltimore’s ground game and their recent success in the cold.
Here’s the latest weather update from Buffalo’s WIVB4 television station:
The temperature at kickoff is expected to be about 17 degrees, with winds light out of the NW, around 4-8 mph. The temperatures will fall throughout the game, and by 10 p.m., Orchard Park will be around 13 degrees.
Isolated snow flurries to dusting throughout the game can’t be ruled out, due to a weak lake effect snow band.
Translation: Brrrrr.