Kurt Warner seems to believe the best team did not win Saturday night’s divisional-round playoff game between the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills, and the Hall of Fame quarterback has come under fire for his controversial take.
After the Bills defeated the Ravens 17-3 in Buffalo, Warner said on NFL Network that he wished the two teams could have played indoors. He obviously felt the windy conditions favored the Bills and would prefer if weather were taken out of the equation.
“Can we just play every playoff game inside?” Warner said, drawing groans from some colleagues. “I know that’s a part of football. I don’t like when we come to the biggest moments of the season and the elements become a part of the mix. I want the best team to be able to advance and all the elements to be the exact same for every team.”
As you might expect, Warner was torn apart on Twitter. He stood by his opinion, however, and said weather should not be a factor in the playoffs and/or Super Bowl.
There are many reasons Warner’s take was a lousy one. For starters, the Ravens play in an outdoor stadium in Baltimore. It’s not as if they’re a dome team, so they should be accustomed to playing in less-than-ideal conditions. More importantly, the Bills were the better team during the regular season and earned home-field advantage.
Teams that play home games in a dome are typically better in that environment than outdoor teams, and vice versa. That’s why it is important to earn home-field advantage, and it may be even more crucial this season.
With teams playing in stadiums that are nowhere close to filled, weather and a familiar environment may be the only reward for the team that is seeded higher. The Packers are also more comfortable playing in rough conditions in Green Bay, and they deserve to have that advantage as the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Warner’s Rams teams were known as the “Greatest Show on Turf,” so it’s no surprise he dislikes playoff games in bad weather. The Ravens made crucial mistakes like this one, which is why they managed only three points. Weather could have been a factor, but both teams had to deal with it.
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