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Haven’t you always wondered how professional athletes compete in severe weather conditions when it’s already hard enough to be a pro at the sport? Some athletes must endure the scalding heat, while others have to play in the bitter cold.
Interestingly enough, in the NFL, severe weather conditions are inevitable, and players grow into a tough mindset, knowing they’ll need to play in the extreme heat and freezing cold. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at three of the coldest NFL games ever to occur in football history, where they took place and what teams were playing!
Starting off the list is the first of only three games in NFL history to have recorded temperatures below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, the 2015 Wild Card clash between the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings. The game occurred at TCF Bank Stadium (now Huntington Bank Stadium) in Minneapolis Minnesota, where one of the coldest games in NFL history would ensue.
When it comes to modern pro football, this game was the only one that made the list of coldest NFL games ever in the 21st century. The temperature was -6 degrees Fahrenheit with a windchill of -25 degrees. The game ended 10-9 in favor of the Seahawks, although both teams were most likely ecstatic to warm back up in the locker room, having just participated in one of the coldest NFL games ever.
This is also the only game on our list where the home team lost to visitors from warmer climes, which won’t have cheered up those chilly Vikings fans.
An old-time AFC Championship Game between the Cincinnati Bengals and San Diego Chargers happened at a chilly Riverfront Stadium back in January of 1982. The multi-purpose Cincinnati-based stadium right on the waterfront would unknowingly lead to the second coldest record game in NFL history, referred to as the ‘Freezer Bowl’.
The Bengals might’ve won this unfortunately cold game 27-7 due to their experience with icier temperatures and thrashing winds, but it would be a game both teams would remember forever. Recorded at a frosty -9 degrees with the wind chill making it feel more like -59 degrees, allowing Bengals loyalists to make the claim that this is the coldest football game ever. Except for…
Taking home the glory as the coldest game to ever occur in the NFL is the half-century-old ‘Ice Bowl’ NFL Championship between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, taking place on New Year’s Eve 1967. To this day, the Green Bay, Wisconsin-located stadium of Lambeau Field holds the record for hosting the coldest NFL game ever in the history of football.
The Packers would take home the championship with frozen fingertips, winning the game 17-21. All in all, the winter-hardened Packers would have a slight advantage going into the game against the team from Texas, which would hit the coldest point in NFL history at -13 degrees Fahrenheit with a windchill of about -48 degrees. We are not taking windchill into account here, meaning that Lambeau claims the chilly crown its history so richly deserves.
Here’s a full list of the 10 coldest games ever played in the NFL, emphasizing the point that Minnesota and Wisconsin tend to test their warm-blooded visitors!
| No. | Game Result | Temperature | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Packers 21 – Cowboys 17 | -13°F ( Wind Chill: -48°F) | Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin | December 31, 1967 |
| 2 | Bengals 27 – Chargers 7 | -9°F (Wind Chill: -59°F) | Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio | January 10, 1982 |
| 3 | Seahawks 10 – Vikings 9 | -6°F (Wind Chill: -25°F) | TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota | January 10, 2016 |
| 4 | Chiefs 26 – Dolphins 7 | -4°F (Wind Chill: -18°F) | Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri | January 13, 2024 |
| 5 | Giants 23 – Packers 20 (OT) | -4°F (Wind Chill: -24°F) | Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin | January 20, 2008 |
| 6 | Raiders 14 – Browns 12 | -4°F (Wind Chill: -36°F) | Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio | January 4, 1981 |
| 7 | Vikings 23 – Bears 10 | -2°F (Wind Chill: -15°F) | Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota | December 3, 1972 |
| 8 | Packers 23 – Vikings 7 | -2°F (Wind Chill: -19°F) | Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota | December 10, 1972 |
| 9 | Packers 28 – Raiders 0 | 0°F (Wind Chill: -20°F) | Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin | December 26, 1993 |
| 10 | Bills 29 – Raiders 23 | 0°F (Wind Chill: -14°F) | Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York | January 15, 1994 |
Feel like warming up a little after reading about that ice-bound action? Check out our post on the hottest ever NFL games right here.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.