“Growing Up in Alabama You Don’t See Snow Often”: Jameis Winston Reflects on His First Snow Game Experience

Born in Bessemer, Alabama, Jameis Winston has always played football in warm weather. He played high school ball in Birmingham, Alabama, attended college at Florida State, was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and signed with the New Orleans Saints. Joining the Cleveland Browns presented a new challenge. And that challenge was on full display during Week 12 in November against the Pittsburgh Steelers, when Cleveland was blanketed with snow.

With 17 years of football under his belt, believe it or not, that was Winston’s very first snow game. And he had himself a ball, leading the Browns to an upset comeback win over the 8-2 division-rival Steelers. He discussed that landmark game on Jason Kelce‘s new show, They Call It Late Night, calling it an “iconic” moment.

“It was iconic, man. Obviously, I was grateful to be in the snow, but growing up in Alabama, you don’t see snow often. So getting a chance to get with the big dogs and score a touchdown, a running one at that.”

The score he’s referring to was a two-yard scramble away from pressure after avoiding a sack, doing his best John Elway impression as he took a double-smack while crossing the plane. Of course, NFL Films had to immortalize the moment.

Considering it was Winston’s first snow game, he couldn’t simply settle for playing and winning in the snow. Of course, one of the funniest guys in the league had to try eating it, too. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite have the texture he was expecting.

“Instantly, when I woke up in the morning, I got a video from my wife and my boys out there, eating icicles. So once I got out there and it started snowing, I was trying to find the best icicle to eat. I was like, man, I’m about to eat this snow. But it wasn’t wet, and I thought it was going to be wet; I thought it was going to be sticky. I didn’t know if it was going to be sticking to my cleats, to my shoulder pads.”

Winston called the heavy snowfall peaceful, despite feeling like he was trapped when it first started “dumping” on them at Huntington Bank Field.

This wasn’t the first time Winston had shared his feelings about snow, either. He also reflected on it during a quintessentially Jameis Winston pregame interview that day.

As they tend to do with someone as emotive and quotable as Winston, social media users had a field day with the clip. The big winner for us was this collage of Winston’s face changing as he slowly starts “remembering snow”.

After completing a touchdown drive with under a minute to go to win the game, Winston was predictably excited. So excited, in fact, that he checked off another box on his snow bucket list, and got the Amazon Prime crew to join him in the endeavor.

That night in the snow was probably the zenith of Winston’s season, as he was eventually benched for Dorian Thompson-Robinson after his turnover issues resurfaced. Winston is a free agent now, and he certainly played well enough to get a backup job anywhere in the league in 2025—and possibly somewhere where he could even battle for the starting role once again.