How Weather Affects NFL Football

Believe it or not, weather is a key contributor to the outcome of a football game. Southern teams are more conditioned to the heat and humidity and experience less cramping when northern teams come to visit. On the contrary, northern teams are more use to the cold weather and are able to capitalize on their familiarity.

In an article by WeatherWorks, 4 climates are examined to see the road team winning percentage.

“There are some eye-popping statistics about how temperature affects teams. In particular, dome teams suffer the most, which can be seen in the chart above. Dome teams win less than 20% of games played at cold weather stadiums when the temperature is 30 degrees or below. From 2000-2011, this scenario occurred 23 times, with the dome team winning just 3 games!

Warm climate teams don’t fair much better, winning approximately 35% of the time playing at cold weather stadiums (when it is cold). For reference, the league average winning percentage for away teams is 42.7%. Looking at the league as a whole, it appears colder weather effects completion percentage and the amount of drops. The league averages 61% passing completion to start the season in September, but only 59.2% in December and just 56.4% in January. Drops per game become increasingly higher by the winter, rising 0.5 – 1 per game.”

It is clear weather does affect the outcome of a football game. The next time you go to make a bet on a particular team, consider these statistics. If your betting on a Dome team playing in Green bay you may want to keep you bet pretty small.