Packers planning chilly Lambeau Field reception for 49ers

By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist

An unfortunate reporter — chilled to the bone and unable to feel his fingertips — posed a question to Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur this week, asking whether the frigid Wisconsin conditions had caused any shift to his practice plans. He was met with a bemused response.

"Was it cold out there?" LaFleur asked, only partly tongue-in-cheek.

Er, unless you happen to be a polar bear, yes, it was. The field was frozen solid, the temperature was not far north of zero. The Packers players, according to LaFleur, "enjoyed it."

The narrative of the seasonal freeze that has descended over Wisconsin providing great aid to the Packers is valid and understandable. It makes basic sense that the team from the really cold place would feel more comfortable in the miserable weather than the one from sunny California, namely the San Francisco 49ers (Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET on FOX).

And yet history hasn’t necessarily played out squarely in Green Bay’s favor on that front. It’s always cold at Lambeau in January, but Aaron Rodgers’ home postseason record is just 5-3, and Green Bay was favored in every one of those games.

Rodgers typically performs well when things fall below freezing (32 degrees). However, on the two occasions when the Lambeau chill has reached its lowest postseason point in recent times, the Packers have lost. One came against the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game nine years ago, at a biting Fahrenheit count of 6. The other was to the New York Giants in the 2007 season, when Rodgers was a backup to Brett Favre and the windchill factor was enough to turn your bones into icicles.

"We are looking at the mid-teens at kickoff and well below 10 degrees by the end of the game," Tasos Kallas, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Green Bay, told me in a telephone conversation. "With windchill, it could feel like 4 degrees below."

Ouch.

The mixed history hasn’t stopped Green Bay from treating the wince-inducing mercury drop as a major plus and greeting it with a genuine sense of glee. 

"Absolutely," LaFleur said, when asked if the cold really mattered. "It all starts with our approach. I think our guys have the right mindset in that regard and embrace the cold. You have to up here, and it’s to our own advantage."

"The colder the better," Rodgers said earlier this season, a theme he has consistently espoused during his career.

There is no comparison to be made for 49ers quarterbacking counterpart Jimmy Garoppolo, who has never started a National Football League game where the temperature dipped below 40. Logic suggests that would offer another boost for the hosts. In theory.

But the 49ers have serious momentum behind them, having fought their way into the postseason with a Week 18 comeback against the Los Angeles Rams, before backing it up by knocking off the Dallas Cowboys last weekend. FOX Bet makes San Francisco a 5.5-point underdog.

For the Packers, the way things have shaken out this season is better than could have been hoped for last summer, when Rodgers was at odds with the organization, and it seemed certain he would leave after the campaign.

He’s at the stage of his career now where legacy factors come into play, and once you’re already a lock for the Hall of Fame, it is games like these that impact your spot on the list of all-time greats.

"Among the guys who are also the greatest ever, a loss this weekend hurts him immeasurably," Nick Wright said on FS1’s "First Things First." "If they win the Super Bowl this year there will be a legitimate ‘who you got’ — Aaron Rodgers or Peyton Manning? If they lose this weekend, it is very, very difficult to make that argument.

"Another home playoff loss, another bye squandered, another time the Niners beat you in the playoffs … they’ve got to at least make the Super Bowl if we are going to have the Rodgers/Manning discussion."

When Rodgers and company take to the field in the late evening, the conditions will start heading toward their chilliest point. Some measures will be taken to offset it, such as heated benches and heating devices on the sidelines, as well as an undersoil system that prevents the playing surface from feeling rock-hard.

Both teams will have staff on hand to ensure their players are well-protected. According to Kallas, those most in danger of suffering from the elements are the visiting fans. In both Los Angeles and Dallas, there was a large contingent of 49ers supporters, and more are expected to venture to the Midwest this weekend.

"Wisconsinites are used to it," Kallas said. "The people here are rugged, and they will bundle up in every way imaginable — hats, gloves, long johns, hand warmers, foot warmers, you name it.

"For the folks coming in from California, leave your T-shirts and shorts at home. Get yourself some hats, scarves and mittens. Late in the game, any exposed skin can freeze, frostbite comes into play and you can get the shakes."

No one wants to get the shakes, either due to the cold or due to the gravity of the occasion. The season is reaching the stage where everything is on the line and there are no second chances. And no excuses.

Not even the weather, no matter how gnarly it gets.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider Newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.