The weather forecast has not been kind to games between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs in 2023. Their Week 8 contest in Empower Field at Mile High City is potentially set to be impacted by snow after their previous meeting was hit by strong winds.
Let’s take a look in a little more detail at the Denver weather forecast for this Week 8 NFL meeting and the potential fantasy football impact of what we see.
Denver Weather Report for Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos
- Temperature: High 20s
- Precipitation: 42% chance at kickoff and decreasing throughout the game
- Wind: 7 mph northeasterly
The weather forecast is from the National Weather Service and is correct as of 7:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 28.
There appear to be some slight differences in interpretations of the various weather forecasts around this Week 8 NFL game between the Broncos and Chiefs. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that the “Forecast for Sunday’s Chiefs-Broncos game in Denver calls for a high of 29 degrees, a low of 13, with 6-14 inches of snow, per the National Weather Service.”
However, closer inspection of the weather chart suggests that the majority of that snow will fall before kickoff, and things should have calmed down by the time the game kicks off. The current kickoff has three to seven inches of snow falling overnight, with another one to two inches falling during the day.
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The hourly weather forecast map demonstrates that by kickoff, the majority of the snow will be gone, and we may not actually see any of the white stuff during the game itself. If the current forecast is correct, then the ground crew should have time to clear the field before kickoff, with only a few scattered snow storms likely during the game itself.
That forecast changes the situation massively in terms of how fantasy managers view the game.
Should Fantasy Managers Be Concerned About the Denver Weather?
Based on the current forecasts, the answer is no. Snow falling before a game is not usually an issue for the game itself or for fantasy output. Where problems occur is when there is sustained heavy snowfall during games. In that situation, it has a direct impact on the game, and ground crews are not able to clear the snow underfoot during the game either.
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If we continue to see a forecast that shows the majority of the snow falling before lunchtime in Denver, then you should continue to start your fantasy options as normal.
Cold weather usually has an impact on the flight and carry of the ball, but some of that should be negated by the thinner Denver air. It is the combination of cold weather with either wind or snow that causes the issue, and we may not see either of those combinations.
Things will get interesting if we see that forecast shift slightly as we get closer. We could see that snow shift back more into the game itself, and then things become more concerning for the pass catchers in this game. The biggest concern will be for the fantasy managers of Travis Kelce, who could see their star tight end negated by a wintery blitz if things change.
The problem here is that this is a late afternoon game in Denver, and things can easily change between the early games starting at 1 p.m. ET and this game at 4 p.m. ET. If you have any Denver or Kansas City players on your roster, you may want to make sure you have some reserves you can turn to in the late afternoon or prime-time windows in case the weather does get worse than currently forecast.
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