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Dolphins-Chiefs wild-card matchup ranks among coldest in NFL playoff history

jim reineking, usa today
·6-min read

With the temperatures sinking below zero at kickoff, the Kansas City Chiefs' 2023 wild-card playoff win over the Miami Dolphins became one of the coldest postseason games in NFL history.

With so many teams based in the Midwest and Northeast, freezing temperatures are not uncommon for NFL playoff games. So, it should come as no surprise that places such as Buffalo, Cleveland and Green Bay, Wisconsin, feature prominently on this list of the coldest NFL playoff games ever.

1. 1967 NFL championship game

Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr is chased by Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Willie Townes during the 1967 NFL championship game at Lambeau Field.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr is chased by Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Willie Townes during the 1967 NFL championship game at Lambeau Field.

The famous Ice Bowl, one of the most iconic games in NFL history, continues to own this spot despite NFL playoff games taking place deeper and deeper into the winter due to expanded regular season and postseason schedules. This game took place on Dec. 31, 1967 (Happy New Year, Green Bay … brr! Per the National Weather Service, this day began a stretch of seven of nine days in which temperatures did not exceed 0 degrees in Green Bay). Bart Starr's quarterback sneak in the final seconds won the game for the Packers, who completed a quest to win three consecutive NFL championships. No other team has accomplished this feat.

2. 1981 AFC championship game

Nicknamed the Freezer Bowl, this was a bitter follow-up for the Chargers, who a week earlier played in the Epic in Miami in the South Florida heat. It hurts just to watch the highlights of this game (maybe it's the freezing cold-artificial turf combo), which catapulted the Bengals to their first Super Bowl appearance. The Bengals' head coach was Forrest Gregg, who played for the Packers in the Ice Bowl.

3. 1945 NFL championship game

This is the Rams' last home game in Cleveland before relocating to Los Angeles, and it was the coldest NFL championship game until the Ice Bowl happened 22 years later. There's a famous photo of players sitting on the sidelines trying to stay warm with their legs buried in hay. A first quarter safety when Hall of Fame quarterback Sammy Baugh hit the goal post with a pass (goal posts were on the goal line through the 1973 season) turned out to be the margin of victory on this chilly Cleveland day.

4. 2015 NFC wild-card playoff

The Seahawks scored all of their points in the fourth quarter, and got a gift late when Vikings kicker Blair Walsh missed a 27-yard field-goal attempt with 22 seconds remaining. This game was played at TCF Bank Stadium, the home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team and temporary Vikings home until U.S. Bank Stadium opened for the 2016 season.

5. 2023 AFC wild-card playoff

The host Chiefs put the warm-weather Dolphins' playoff hopes into a deep freeze. While the Dolphins' playoff victory drought hit 23 seasons — now the longest such streak in the league — the Chiefs reached at least the divisional playoff round for a sixth consecutive season.

6. 2007 NFC championship game

This epic cold-weather clash ultimately altered NFL history. After winning this dramatic game, the Giants went on to upset the 18-0 New England Patriots in Super Bowl 43 to prevent the first undefeated season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin's frostbitten face also remains one of the enduring memories from this game.

7. 1993 AFC divisional playoff

By this time, much of America was sick of seeing the Bills in the Super Bowl. That didn't matter to the Bills, who defeated the Raiders on this cold Western New York day and then beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game en route to a fourth consecutive Super Bowl appearance.

8. 1980 AFC divisional playoff

The famous Red Right 88 game set forth a string of playoff misfortunes suffered by the Browns during the 1980s. The play call resulted in Browns quarterback Brian Sipe throwing an interception in the end zone, an ill-advised gamble when Cleveland could have won the game with a field goal. The Raiders went on to become the first wild-card team to win a Super Bowl.

9. 1996 NFC championship game

"Ice Bowl II" – as it was dubbed at the time – wasn't nearly as cold as the original, but it did propel the Packers to their first Super Bowl appearance since the 1967 season, which featured the famous game. The Panthers, in just their second season of existence, were no match for the Packers, who went on to win Super Bowl 31.

10 (tie). 1987 NFC divisional playoff

This brutally cold game – there's something about frigid games played on artificial turf that make it seem even colder – helped Washington reach the Super Bowl, and sent the then-NFL's all-time leading rusher Walter Payton into retirement. Washington defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC title game before winning Super Bowl 22 against the Denver Broncos.

10 (tie). 1963 NFL championship game

This was Bears owner/head coach George Halas' sixth and final NFL title as coach, and the last championship game appearance for a Giants team that had appeared in six such games in eight seasons. It would be 22 seasons before the Bears would win another title and 23 seasons for the Giants.

10 (tie). 2003 AFC divisional playoff

A late-game field goal by Adam Vinatieri on a freezing day in Foxborough made winners of the Patriots (sound familiar?). A week later, the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts on a balmy, 32-degree day in Foxborough in the AFC title game en route to Super Bowl 38, where they defeated the Carolina Panthers for their second Lombardi Trophy in three seasons.

Temperature data from Pro Football Reference.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coldest NFL playoff games: Dolphins-Chiefs wild-card game makes list