The Meadowlands was a swirling bowl of mess this past Sunday, and a lot of people have commented on Sam Darnold’s arm strength, even before this game. I believe I saw a stat where Darnold was 2-13 for like 4 yards going into the wind Sunday. This is by no means a Darnold is noodle arm thread. But it all got me thinking - because the weather from here on out isn’t getting any sunnier - what some of the upcoming November and December games will bring. When you look at the question: toughest divisions weather-wise, I think many default answers are AFC North and NFC North. I demur. I think it’s the AFC East, and I am not sure it’s close. Buffalo and Foxboro in November and December is at times brutal, we know. It turns out climate data shows Buffalo is the windiest, snowiest and the coldest in the NFL. Foxboro and Metlife aren’t far behind in terms of bad weather. I don’t think there is a more brutal weather division including the NFCN with it’s two domes, but Chicago and GB are brutal. When you throw in Miami, as a curveball, especially in September and October with the blaring heat and humidity that is known to drain opponents, and the high percentage rain of Miami, and this is not a friendly weather city either, for a different reason, and it makes the division the most difficult climate-wise. I don’t think it’s close. Anyway, we are going to learn a lot about Sam Darnold’s ability to deal with the weather in the next two months plus. Some of the attachments show Super Bowl week, and I am frankly too lazy to do additional research right now, but you get the point, and there is other data out there. http://www.climatecentral.org/outreach/alert-archive/Superbowl.php?market=DC NFL DIVISIONS RANKED BY AVERAGE WIND SPEEDS (windiest to least windy) source:https://247sports.com/nfl/cincinnat...ightmare-The-Windiest-NFL-Stadiums-105213973/ AFC East 12.47 NFC North 10.27 (one dome)*old? NFC East 9.86 (one retractable roof) NFC West 9.70 (one dome, one retractable roof) AFC North 9.30 AFC West 8.77 AFC South 7.90 (two retractable roofs) NFC South 7.85 (two domes) NFL TEAMS WITH OPEN-AIR STADIUMS RANKED BY AVERAGE WIND SPEEDS (windiest to least windy) Buffalo/Orchard Park, New York 16.1 New England/Foxborough, Massachusetts 14.5 New York Jets/Giants East Rutherford, New Jersey 10.7-9(?) Kansas City, Missouri 10.6 San Francisco/Santa Clara, California 10.6 Cleveland, Ohio 10.5 Minneapolis, Minnesota 10.5 Chicago, Illinois 10.3 Green Bay, Wisconsin 10.0 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 9.5 Washington/Landover, Maryland 9.4 Miami Gardens, Florida 9.2 Cincinnati, Ohio 9.0 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 9.0 Oakland, California 8.8 Seattle, Washington 8.8 Baltimore, Maryland 8.7 Denver, Colorado 8.7 Tampa, Florida 8.3 Nashville, Tennessee 8.0 Jacksonville, Florida 7.8 Charlotte, North Carolina 7.4 San Diego, California 7.0
