The NFL is a league that plays rain or shine, good weather or bad. Some might say that the snow games are the most entertaining to watch. Which could be true but true fans watch the game not for the forecast but for the football. However, we will still look at a couple of great weather games throughout the NFL’s history.
The Fog Bowl (1988)
The 1988 NFC Divisional Round playoff game started off like any other normal game. New Year’s Eve 1988 featured the Chicago Bears hosting the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the playoffs. It was an unusually warm day in Chicago that day, sunny and 55 degrees.
Just before the start of the second quarter, an immense thick fog rolled in over Soldier Field. The fog was caused when the cold air of Lake Michigan mixed with the warm air over Soldier Field.
Eventually, the Bears would win the controversial game with a score of 20-12. Unfortunately for the Bears, they would lose in the NFC Championship game to the San Francisco 49ers who would later go on to win the Super Bowl.
The Ice Bowl (1967)
The 1967 NFL Championship is known as the Ice Bowl because it is the coldest game in the history of the NFL. It was so cold that the referee’s whistles froze and stuck to their lips. The game had to be started and stopped by the command of the referees alone. The matchup was the mighty Green Bay Packers hosting the Dallas Cowboys.
The game ended up coming down to a Packers 4th and goal on the one-yard line. Packers head coach Vince Lombardi told quarterback Bart Starr to “run the ball and let’s get the hell out of here”. With that Starr scored on that play and the Packers won the NFL.
The Packers went on to win the first ever Super Bowl over the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs. The final score of the Super Bowl was 35-10.
The Snow Plow Game (1982)
The Snow Plow Game was a 1982 week 14 AFC East matchup between the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins. There was about 6-7 inches of snow on the ground and the ball was slippery because of all the snow. The result was a 0-0 ball game going into the final seconds of the fourth quarter.
The Patriots had the ball and head coach Ron Meyer opted to go for a 33 yard field goal to end the game. This is when a convicted felon on work release named Mark Henderson hopped on a little snow plow and cleared a path for kicker John Smith to kick the game winning field goal.
The Patriots won the game 3-0 and Dolphins head coach Don Shula was livid. Shula petitioned NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle to have the result of the game overturned but Rozelle said no.
The Monsoon Bowl (2011)
The final weather game we will talk about is the 2011 Monsoon Bowl. Eleven inches of rain poured down on Charlotte, North Carolina in a week three game between the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The rain was so immense that fans were able to fill plastic cups full of water and pour them down onto the field. The Panthers would eventually win 16-10. Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton would go on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year that year.
Conclusion
In conclusion to this article, there have been many bad weather games throughout NFL and they are just as fun to watch as those perfect weather games we all know and love.
