The wind whipped around Bills Stadium on Saturday night, wreaking havoc for both Buffalo and Baltimore in the Divisional Round.
Each club missed two field goals, a bevy of deep passes sailed on quarterbacks, and the contest's rhythm suffered from the herky-jerky nature, as the Bills persevered, 17-3, to advance to the AFC Championship Game.
Following the contest, Ravens coach John Harbaugh noted the wind was rough for both teams.
"The wind was very impactful," he said, . "I think you could see that for both kickers. It was a very tough wind out there, really in both directions."
Justin Tucker, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, missed 41- and 46-yard field goals in the first half. Entering the 2020 Divisional Round, Tucker was 11-11 on field goal attempts inside 50 yards in his postseason career.
Bills kicker Tyler Bass missed field goals of 43 and 44 yards.
Harbaugh added that the wind could have played a role in the horrific snaps from Ravens center Patrick Mekari, who botched four snaps, one that led to Lamar Jackson getting injured and being ruled out due to a concussion.
Neither passing offense got on track in the blustery conditions. Bills QB Josh Allen completed 23-of-37 passes for 206 yards and a TD. Jackson went 14-of-24 for 162 yards and a game-changing pick-six. Baltimore backup Tyler Huntley completed 6-of-13 for 60 yards, including a deep shot that could have been a TD to Marquise Brown.
Elements are part of football, but nothing else wrecks a game quite like the wind. A contest between two prolific offenses was rendered a defensive struggle in part because of howling winds.
