The New England Patriots have several advantages over the Los Angeles Chargers in Sunday’s playoff matchup. They have a better offensive line and a clean slate entering the postseason, whereas Justin Herbert and the Chargers are haunted by the organization’s previous playoff failures.
The Patriots also have home-field advantage, as they’ll be hosting a postseason game for the first time in six years.
Part of that advantage involves the weather. New England is used to playing outdoors and in the cold, whereas Los Angeles is a warm-weather team that plays in a dome.
The temperature is expected to be around 32 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff in Foxborough on Sunday night, which gives the Patriots a massive historical edge.
Over the last 10 years, dome teams are 1-14 in the playoffs when playing on the road with temperatures below 40 degrees at kickoff. That includes the Chargers, who are 0-2 in such games.
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“Do not ignore the weather-related facts surrounding this game that we talked about earlier this week. These ones are real,” WEEI’s Jim Murray said on Friday afternoon’s episode of “Felger & Mazz.” “The bottom line is this. If the Patriots or the Steelers lose this weekend, it will be a near-historic loss. Just go with the weather.”
New England is a 3.5-point home favorite over Los Angeles, so the game is expected to be fairly close. However, it would definitely be surprising if the Chargers leave Gillette Stadium with a victory on a cold January night.
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Featured image via David Butler II-Imagn Images
