The Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos could get some football weather on Sunday afternoon at Empower Field at Mile High.
Forecasts for the game from Weather.com, AccuWeather, and the National Weather Service all call for over 60% chance of snow ahead of and throughout the Week 7 game. Projections show anywhere from 1-5 inches and upwards of 12 inches of snow accumulation throughout the day. Temperatures are expected to stay right around 20 degrees, which would make it the coldest game of the season for the Chiefs.
This team appears unphased by the wintery forecast, however. Chiefs starting QB Patrick Mahomes, who has described himself as a “snow-game guy” spoke on the topic willingly on Wednesday.
“It’s going to be a snow game, so I’m pretty excited for that as well,” Mahomes said.
As for the coaching staff, they won’t be altering their preparation because of the weather. The only advice that coaches have for their players includes ball security and equipment usage. That message was delivered on both sides of the ball.
“I know that we did play a snow game last year, it was against these guys, it was at home,” Steve Spagnuolo told reporters on Thursday. “The elements are what they are, everybody’s got to deal with it. Coach Reid addressed it this morning and we just roll. You can’t let anything take you off course from what you’re trying to do. The only thing I can think of when you ask that question is, I just go back to what’s the field conditions and let’s be smart with footwear and all that. Guys, DBs, keep your feet underneath you, the little things like that. But other than that, I don’t think the game plan changes.”
“Nah, we just go play,” said RB coach Deland McCullough. “Make sure you got the right cleats on and go out and ball. That’s our opportunity to run the ball more, so shoot you don’t have to tell those guys nothing but secure the ball and get positive yards.”
The kicking game shouldn’t be impacted much with wind gusts ranging from 5-10 mph throughout the game. This is the week that Harrison Butker will have some extra distance on his kicks, given the thin air in Mile High Stadium. That’ll certainly be something to watch despite the wintery conditions.
[vertical-gallery id=79123]