Home-field advantage doesn't typically have as a big of an impact in sports anymore for a variety of reasons, but when some NFL stadiums are completely different than others in terms of their weather exposure, they can make a difference.
That could certainly be the case for Sunday's battle for first place in the NFC North between the 6-1 Detroit Lions and the 6-2 Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Lambeau is, of course, an outdoor stadium without a roof, which is very different than Detroit's Ford Field, a dome. It will certainly feel much different on Sunday, per meteorologist Kevin Roth. Green Bay's forecast is showing "a steady soaking rain from now through the end of the game, with winds gusting over 30 miles per hour."
Why is that a big deal? Well, Week 9 will be the Lions' first outdoor game of the 2024 season, making Detroit quarterback Jared Goff the second quarterback since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger to start his squad's first seven games without playing outdoors. The first was Matt Ryan in 2019. Over the course of his career since 2021, Goff has balled out inside and struggled outdoors.
| Jared Goff Lions Career by Venue | Indoors/Retractable Roof | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|
Starts | 38 | 17 |
Comp Pct | 69% | 63.5% |
Pass Yards/Attempt | 7.7 | 7.0 |
TD-INT | 73-22 | 18-9 |
Passer Rating | 103.5 | 87.7 |
In an outdoor game in which the Lions will not have speedster Jameson Williams, who is suspended for two games for a violation of the NFL's performance-enhancing substances (PES) policy, Detroit's downfield passing game could go missing. Goff is averaging 4.3 air yards per pass attempt on 32 passes without Williams on the field and 7.6 air yards per attempt on 157 passes with Williams on the field this season.
Expect a heavy dose of Detroit's dynamic duo of running backs in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
