Bad weather can quickly turn the fortunes of even the best of teams. Snow wasn’t a friend of the Rams when they went up against Philly on the road. Of course, a team from Los Angeles is not going to have much luck with a snow day. And that’s exactly what Kelly Stafford thinks led to her husband’s team’s downfall.
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The Rams lost to the Eagles 28-22 in the closely contested game. Matthew Stafford’s wife Kelly believes that the snowy Lincoln Field played spoilsport on Sunday,
“I do believe if there was no snow in that game, we would have won that game. That is why home-field advantage is a thing in the playoffs.
“That is why Philly wants to play at home because they know how to do the element well and things like that,” Kelly said on the The Morning After with Kelly Stafford and Hank podcast.
The snow probably gave the Eagles an advantage, which the team from Los Angeles found hard to adapt to. But the Rams are not the only team to have had weather conditions against them.
In another divisional-round matchup between the Ravens and the Bills recently, the Ravens struggled in the snow. They had drops and fumbles and were unable to hold on to the ball. Meanwhile, the Bills players were unfazed by it and it showed in the eventual outcome, 27-25. So it is called ‘home advantage’ for a reason.
Even then, Kelly refused to blame the NFL for the Rams’ showing as they have taken a few measures to ensure that the visiting team has a level playing field as much as possible.
Kelly Stafford revealed that the NFL doesn’t allow unfair advantages
On the same episode of the podcast, Kelly highlighted how both teams have access to essentials like thick coats, heated benches, and iPads to maintain a level playing field.
If, for instance, the heated benches for the away team malfunction, the NFL mandates that the home team turn off their bench heaters as well. This ensures the home team doesn’t gain an unfair advantage, reinforcing the league’s commitment to fairness and equity.
“Whatever is supplied to the home team, is also supplied to the away team. When it comes to things like big coats, the heated benches, iPads. If the iPads aren’t working or the heated benches aren’t working, the other teams have to turn theirs off. “
The Rams were certainly at a disadvantage, she noted, as they couldn’t adequately prepare for snow or rain. However, weather forecasts often provide advanced warnings of such conditions.
So it is not wild to suggest that Matthew and the team could have practiced at venues like MetLife Stadium in New York or Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh to better acclimate themselves.
After all, teams frequently travel for warm-weather training—so why not do the opposite? With the resources and financial power that NFL teams possess, they have the means to access other facilities or even simulate adverse weather conditions for better preparations.
