There’s a certain perverse delight in watching NFL games played in inclement weather. We saw one of those games in Week 15, a bizarre 8-0 win by the Cleveland Browns over the visiting Buffalo Bills. Snow and wind gusts of up to 40 mph turned the Cleveland Browns Stadium into a winter wonderland.
At least the Bills are familiar with these conditions. The victims in the NFL’s two most famous Snow Bowls were warm-weather clubs. In 1985, the Green Bay Packers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21-0 at Lambeau Field in the middle of a blizzard. Green Bay racked up 512 yards of offense; Tampa Bay (led by QB Steve Young) managed just 65.
And then there was the Tuck Rule. The New England Patriots dynasty might never have gotten off the ground without that 16-13 victory at Foxboro over the Oakland Raiders in the 2002 AFC Wild Card Game. Oakland fans call it “The Snow Job.”