The Houston Texans are set to travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium for their Divisional Playoff Round matchup on Saturday afternoon.
As it stands, current weather forecasts have the temperature projected to be around 24 degrees Fahrenheit, and getting down nearer to 20 degrees by the time the game wraps up.
Certainly, those are not the types of conditions the Texans are going to be used to playing in.
That said, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans doesn't care, because there is too much on the line to be concerned with the weather.
"I would say, ‘Who cares? Let’s go," Ryans said. "We’ve got to find a way to make plays.”
Ryans, having played in 140 NFL games over 10 seasons himself - including four years with the Eagles in the northeast - is no stranger to playing in cold weather.
In fact, he can specifically recall an occasion where he played in the snow back when he was playing for the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2013 vs the Detroit Lions. The Eagles came out on top 34-20 in that game, and Ryans had five tackles.
And according to him, it was more fun than anything else.
“It’s fun. I was fortunate to play in one cold-weather game," Ryans said. "We literally went in for warm-ups and came back out and there was snow everywhere. It’s fun playing in the cold weather games, and you kind of block out how bad it’s going to hurt, that doesn’t matter."
Now leading a team of his own, Ryans believes the Texans' singular focus should be on what is in front of them - a potential AFC Championship berth.
Something that, a year ago when the Texans players were sitting at home with a 3-13-1 record and watching the playoffs from their couches, no one would have expected.
“How blessed are we to be in this position playing for a spot to go to the AFC championship game? That’s all that’s on our mind... just finding a way to win no matter the elements, no matter how you feel. I know everybody’s pretty sore, everybody’s pretty beat up at this moment, but how would victory feel? That’s all that matters.”
The kickoff between the Ravens and Texans is set for 3:30 pm CT.
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