Helmet

January 14, 2024

Last night the Chiefs and Dolphins squared off in a Wildcard playoff game that ranked as the fourth coldest NFL game on record.  Arrowhead Stadium has a seating capacity of 76,416, making it the 25th-largest stadium in the United States and the fourth-largest NFL stadium.  It was reported the sellout crowd braved the weather as an estimated 76,000 showed up to brave the -24F (-31C) windchill temperature.  Tailgaters arrived outside the stadium with heaters and hot drinks trying to stay warm.  They brought multiple layers of clothing, heated gloves and socks, thermal underwear, and long johns.  The game cameras again and again focused on Chief’s head coach Andy Reid’s frozen mustache.  According to one fan, “You’ve got to enjoy it while you have it.  This is the golden era.  I’m not going to miss it because it’s a little cold.”  The sub-zero game in Kansas City was everything that fans expected from the fourth-coldest game in NFL history, but Patrick Mahomes’ broken helmet was not expected.

When I looked online, I found the coldest game in NFL history was the 1967 NFL Championship between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers.  The gametime temperatures for “The Ice Bowl” was -13F (-25C).  The game was attended by 50,861 people, selling out Lambeau Field.  While Green Bay won the game 21-17, both teams finished with less than 200 total yards (Green Bay–195 yards; Dallas–192 yards).  The wind chill was even colder at -48F (-44.5C).  A layer of condensation had formed between the tarp and the field and once the tarp was removed the field froze.  Green Bay has been home to several of the coldest games in NFL history.  According to Stathead, the average temperature for playoff games at Lambeau Field is 21.8F (5.7C), and the warmest playoff hosted at Lambeau was 35F (1.7C) when the Packers hosted the Los Angeles Rams on January 16, 2021.  It is one of only two playoff games played at the stadium where temperatures were above freezing.  Four of the games played there have either been in the single digits or in the negatives.  Despite the cold, last night was the first time a helmet broke.

The broken helmet occurred when Mahomes took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Miami’s DeShon Elliot in the third quarter.  While Mahomes shrugged off the hit, his helmet was not so lucky.  The plastic headgear cracked, and a large piece was broken off.  The image of Mahomes’ helmet cracking captured the attention of NFL fans, and the replays showed the three inch (7.5 cm) long piece of plastic flying through the air after the hit.  Mahomes played several downs before the referee stopped the action and allowed Mahomes to switch out his helmet.  The drive ended with a field goal.  Maholmes worked on the new helmet while Miami had the ball, trying to stuff the old padding into the new one (it did not work) and trying to change out the face mask.  Despite the irritation, Mahomes led the Chiefs to their second touchdown of the night on the next drive.  The Chiefs won the game 26-7.

THOUGHTS:  Melissa’s question was after hearing about the cold was, “Why are they playing?”  Buffalo did postpone their game, but because of snow and not from the cold.  Mahomes’ broken helmet worked out and he was not injured.  The companies that manufacture the helmets are required to put them through safety tests to be approved for use in the NFL, but it is unclear whether testing is done under the extreme temperatures that Kansas City experienced.  Pro Football Talk said both the NFL and the NFL Players Association should insist on testing helmets in subzero temperatures and if there is a temperature where it is too cold for helmets to perform reliably, it should be too cold to play.  Short of a lightning strike, little gets in the way of football.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.