Snow Drift: Is Bills-Browns Slide to Detroit Bad for Patriots?

Four feet of snow might have "leveled" the playing field for a Cleveland upset of AFC East favorite Buffalo.

In the NFL, the elements can be an equalizer.

Take, for instance, the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills in 2021.

On Dec. 6 in a game played in 40-mph winds and sideways rain at Buffalo's Highmark Stadium, the Patriots adeptly adjusted and threw only three passes in a 14-10 win. New England held the potent Bills' offense to a season-low 230 yards.

The weather, in effect, leveled the playing field.

Three weeks later in Foxboro - on a cold-but-clear afternoon with only 10-mph wind - quarterback Josh Allen threw for 314 yards and the Bills didn't have to punt in a 33-21 victory. The teams' playoff meeting on Jan. 15 back in Buffalo followed the clear-weather blueprint, with the Bills again not having to punt on their way to a 47-17 victory. Temperature at kickoff was 7 degrees, but with no wind.

In games in which the weather altered game plans, the Patriots went 1-0. In normal environments, they lost both games to the Bills by a combined 80-38.

So when it comes to this weekend's epic lake-effect snowstorm forcing the Bills-Cleveland Browns game to move to Detroit, it's a lose-lose for Patriots fans. Not only do we get cheated out of the unique aesthetics of watching an NFL game played in a blizzard, the Browns' only chance to upset Buffalo is being negated by the game moving indoors to the Detroit Lions' Ford Field.

Behind Nick Chubb, the Browns offense is built to run the football at 158 yards per game. The Bills have the top offense in the NFL, but it's obviously more dangerous through the air. Inside Detroit's climate-controlled dome, the Browns' 31st-ranked defense is susceptable to a blowout.

The 5-4 Pats, who host the 6-3 New York Jets Sunday at Gillette Stadium, still have visions of catching the 6-3 Bills and potentially winning the AFC East. The teams meet twice in the season's final six weeks.

It would greatly help New England's cause if Cleveland upset Buffalo Sunday. Mother Nature, however, won't be there to help.

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