Matthew Stafford shrugs at the cold and wind the Rams will endure in Chicago
When the Rams and the Bears get together in the postseason for the first time since the 1985 NFC Championship, it will be cold in Chicago. As it usually is there in January. And it will be windy in Chicago. As it almost always is there.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has no qualms about his team's next assignment.
"I think as far as the wind goes, you're right, it is always windy in Chicago," Stafford told Jim Gray on the latest episode of the Let's Go! podcast. "I played a handful of games there throughout the years. The good thing for us is it was windy this past week in Carolina. I think every kickoff, it seemed like somebody had to come out and hold it. It was getting blown off the tee, blown off the tee, blown off the tee. We've dealt with that before.
"And then when it goes to cold weather, we played the Jets last year in what was, I think it was like 12 degrees at kickoff. And you just adjust to whatever the weather allows you to do. And I think if it's just cold with a little bit of wind, we go play. You know, I love that kind of stuff. I mean, that's playoff football, right? Cold weather in Chicago, windy day, there's nothing better than that in my mind, so I'm excited for it."
The current forecast calls for a high of 21 and a low of eight on Sunday in Chicago. The kickoff time (3:00 p.m. ET or 6:30 p.m. ET) has not yet been set.
For Stafford, his injured finger is another potential issue, when it comes to gripping a cold football. He downplayed that factor.
He up-played the overall significance of playing a playoff game in Chicago.
"I mean, I sit there and I think to myself, I was a kid once playing football in the backyard, throwing the ball up against a tree or into the fence, just thinking about, Man, what if I was doing this someday in a playoffs in Chicago against the Bears?'" Stafford said. "I mean, there's so much nostalgia in this game and so much reverence I have for the people who played before and all that. Just, hey, enjoy this, right? Let's go prepare like we know how to prepare and let's go cut it loose on Sunday and enjoy the opportunity to play together. We have such a great group, both coaches and players. We love coming to work and finding ways to get better, finding ways to win football games, doing all the things that you have to do. Let's go earn the right to continue to work together."
It's one thing to say it from L.A. It's another thing to deal with the cold and the wind. And while it may not affect Stafford (does anything affect him?), other players on the Rams may find those conditions to be challenging.