Week 18 has enough landmines to dodge while running through the handicapping fields, but there are some basic things that we need to keep in mind as well. Weather forecasts could also dictate who plays and who sits and also the game-plan for a team. Coaches that have playoff aspirations are going to be less likely to throw guys out there on a wet, sloppy field.
Let’s see which games could be impacted by Mother Nature given that Sunday is January 9 and weather is always a factor at this time of the year. I use the National Weather Service forecasts, but it isn’t a bad idea to crowdsource Weather Channel, Accuweather, etc. just to make sure.
Bengals (-3, 41) at Browns – There will be a lot of empty seats at FirstEnergy Stadium for this one. Rain is in the forecast and so are sustained winds in the 15-20 mph range. The Bengals can move up in the standings, but likely won’t put Joe Burrow at risk this week. Get fired up for Brandon Allen vs. Case Keenum in this slop! I’d expect this total to move down.
Washington (-7, 38.5) at Giants – A rain-snow mix is in the forecast at the Meadowlands with winds in the 10 mph range with gusts up to 20. I’m not sure how much lower this total can go with Jake Fromm getting the start for the Giants, but the weather looks suboptimal.
Jets at Bills (-16.5, 42.5) – Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the weather is going to be bad in Buffalo. After getting a foot to a foot-and-a-half of snow during the week, rain is in the forecast for Monday. Also, winds of 20-25 mph with gusts into the 30s are expected. This is a total that started moving yesterday and will likely only continue to go down.
Patriots (-6.5, 40) at Dolphins – Windy conditions are the worry in South Florida this week. Sustained winds of 15-20 mph and gusts up into the 25 mph range are in the forecast. It might also rain a little bit, but that’s a daily occurrence in the Sunshine State.
Of these four games, Bengals/Browns and Jets/Bills easily stand out the most to me and are totals I’d expect to lower.