Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN/WGR Sports Radio 550) - Cold weather football. Will it be a factor in Sunday's AFC Divisional Round matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium?
Ask any NFL player: A ball that is frozen is hard to throw, catch or even hang onto when temperatures dip below 25 degrees.
Meteorologist Andy Parker gave us a little "Weather 101" on the impact.
"Each team is given 24 footballs. They have an hour before kickoff to scuff them up, because they are literally right off of the assembly line. They have an extra 'sheen' on them, so the players take them and beat them up, and then give them to the officials," said Parker during an appearance on WBEN. "Once the officials have the balls, they do the pressure checks and then return them to the teams."
Leading up to Sunday evening's kickoff, temperatures are only expected to top out at around 19 degrees in the afternoon. Come time for kickoff, conditions could dip into the single-digits.
The balls do not get warmed. It is illegal for any team to warm the ball during the game.
Parker said the balls will be "as hard as a rock."
"At 17 degrees, anyone who has ever caught a football in wintertime and had it hit your hands, you know what these teams are up against," Parker explained.
"The balls are going to be extremely stiff and, in this cold, they do take on a different property. I talked to the equipment manager for the Bills, because I wondered if they could somehow keep them heated, but they do not."
At halftime, the balls are warmed when the officials take them off the sidelines. They will be at room temperature to start the second half.
The hard ball could impact the kicking game for both teams as well.
Bills radio play-by-play man Chris Brown tells WBEN both Tyler Bass and Ravens kicker Justin Tucker have struggled this season. Tucker has missed eight field goals and two extra points, while Bass has missed five field goals and five extra points.
"In a tight game, those guys could take center stage at the end," said Brown on Friday. "When it's cold, the ball is like kicking a rock. It doesn't fly as far."
Brown said if the Bills or Ravens get to the 38, 37 or 35 yard line, they might think twice about putting their kicker out there. Offenses may have to get closer before field goal attempts are made.
Parker remembers a conversation he had with former Bills wide receiver Eric Moulds. Moulds said wind is the worst, but cold is second, because it is much harder to catch an icy ball than it is to catch a ball thrown on a 70 degree day.
Kickoff on Sunday is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.