The Chargers didn't have to wait until Sunday to manage the elements.
Rain pounded the Chargers' training facility on Monday and is expected to continue through the middle of the week, providing the team just a hint of what it can expect this weekend when it travels to face the Cincinnati Bengals.
“It was good (Monday),” quarterback Philip Rivers said. “Having three days off, it was good to go out. Obviously, with these conditions you can't really duplicate what you might see in Denver or Cincinnati the next two weeks. But it was a little chilly. It's wet. It was a little windy. It was good to go out and do it and run around. I thought we had a good, upbeat practice.”
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According to The Weather Channel, the brunt of a snowstorm is expected to hit Cincinnati on Wednesday with its coldest day coming on Sunday.
Game-day conditions at Paul Brown Stadium call for flurries with a high of 23 degrees, low of 17 and a 30 percent chance for precipitation.
“If that's the case, that's about as good as you can ask for,” Rivers said. “Once you get down in that cold, cold is cold. Wind can become a factor and how wet it is.”
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Coach Norv Turner concurs that “wind is the biggest problem in terms of throwing the ball.” Officially, The Weather Channel expects wind to have a “medium” impact on the game, blowing in at an average of 11 miles per hour from the north-northwest direction.
On the Spectator Index, which gauges comfortability for fans in attendance, the conditions rank the lowest possible on the one to 10 scale from “very poor” to “excellent.”
“I actually look forward to it because it's football weather,” safety Eric Weddle said. “It's out of the norm. ...We're excited regardless of what we have to play into. We have so much on the line. Really, we could care less if it's snowing, if it's sunny, if it's negative 50. We're going to go in and try to get this victory because that's what's on our mind right now.”
The Chargers (8-6) have two weeks to make up one game on the Chiefs (9-5), who lead the AFC West.
The Chiefs can clinch the division by sweeping the Titans and Raiders. Both games will be played in Arrowhead Stadium, where the the Chiefs are 6-0 this season.
That gives the Chargers bigger concerns than what is happening in the Cincinnati skies.
“This isn't the first time any of us have done it,” Rivers said. “I honestly see weather having zero effect in the outcome of the game.”
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