This weekend we will finally be getting our first taste of fall down in Texas but elsewhere full on winter will be blasting on to the NFL scene.  I don’t know about you but I absolutely love watching football in the snow. Maybe it’s the Texas kid in me relishing any chance I get to see snow, or maybe its because it's fun to watch abnormally large men try to move nimbly on ice.  Whatever the reason is though it is fun. In addition to snow some other games may see some relatively minor weather impacts, so lets get to it:

Bears @ Dolphins (12:00 PM Sunday) – A matchup between teams that seem to be going in opposite directions.  However, the fact that this game is in Miami may give the Dolphins a bit of help. While it should be dry in terms of precipitation the humidity will be oppressive as usual.  During the game the heat index will be floating in the upper 90s which may take more of a toll on the Bears than it does on the Dolphins. I would guess we will see the Bears splitting more carries between their two running backs to keep them fresh and their defense may not be quite as sharp.

QB, RB, TE, WR & K: ↔

DEF: ↓

Ravens @ Titans: (3:25 PM Sunday) – As a cold front progresses across the country it could spark some showers in Nashville during this game.  Right now it does not look to be a deluge but there is a healthy chance of at least some passing rain throughout the afternoon here.  With two relatively vertically challenged offenses look for more of an emphasis on the ground game here.

QB: ↓

RB: ↑↑

TE: ↑

WR: ↓

K: ↓

DEF: ↑

Rams @ Broncos (3:05 PM Sunday) – Here we are at the most interesting weather game of the week.  While one or two shots of snow isn’t all that uncommon in Denver in October, it’s a bit more rare for it to fall on an NFL Sunday there.  Currently it looks like the bulk of the snow will be a little earlier in the day, but there will likely still be some lingering snow showers particularly in the first half of the game.  This won’t be a white-out with significant accumulation on the field, but snow is snow. On top of the snow it is going to be downright cold. The temperature at kickoff will be around 20 degrees with a windchill of about 10 degrees.  While neither team has practiced in these types of conditions this year (as opposed to southern teams becoming more acclimated to heat and humidity), the Broncos have at least played in this before. In fact, the Rams have not played an outdoor game where the temperature was below freezing in over 10 years. This is foreign territory for a team that used to play in a dome and now plays in southern California.  The Broncos on the other hand have played 10 games below freezing since 2012 and have a record of 6-4 in those contests. Between the snow and the cold look for this to very much be a ground and pound kind of game.

QB: ↓↓

RB: ↑↑↑

TE: ↑

WR: ↓↓

K: ↓↓

DEF: ↑

Baseball Special

With the ALCS starting this weekend in Boston I thought I’d take a look at what kind of conditions the Astros would be encountering there.

Saturday (7:09 PM) – There will be rain earlier in the day but it should be dry by game time, but temperatures will only be in the mid 40’s.  This isn’t ideal as the cold air makes hitting more difficult and the Astros don’t have the best history playing in the cold.  However with Verlander on the mound I still like their chances.

Sunday (6:09 PM) – Temperatures will be a bit warmer for this game rising to the mid 50s.  Still not ideal for hitting but better than the night before. Neither of these games look to have much impact from wind.

For more information on any other games, to check in on conditions before kickoff, or if you have any other questions you can find me on Twitter @stephenuzick.