The New England Patriots have one of the best home stadiums in the league. Gillette Stadium becomes a fortress late in the season, with fans and weather becoming major factors as the season rolls on.
Robert Kraft recently reflected on his opting not to add a dome to Gillette, citing the weather as a major factor.
“It made me realize that I never wanted to have a dome. Even though [the Bills] didn’t win any of the [Super Bowls], they won games because the players don’t like coming up into a cold place like that."
Buffalo, similar to New England, is an incredibly difficult place to play late in the season due to the weather. Owner Terry Pegula seems to have a similar thought process to Kraft, as the new stadium that is set to open this summer will be open-air.
The cold weather gives New England a huge advantage late in the season
Late in the season is, historically, when New England has played its best football. Temperatures come into full effect, and there are clear-cut examples of what the cold can do to players' performance who aren't otherwise used to it. Tua Tagovailoa is 1-7 in games under 50 degrees, with more interceptions than touchdowns. He's never won a game when the kickoff temperature is under 46 degrees.
New England just picked off C.J. Stroud four times on Sunday, continuing to prove Stroud's inability to play outside. In outdoor playoff games, he's 1-3, with two touchdowns to five interceptions. His only playoff win outside came against the Steelers this year, when the Houston defense scored two touchdowns.
Comparatively, Stroud has four touchdowns to a single interception and is 2-0 in dome playoff games, averaging 278 passing yards a game and leading the Texans to 38.5 points per game. The Texans have scored 17.5 points per game outside.
Kraft compared New England's advantage in temperature to Denver's altitude advantage.
“I think the Broncos have (competitive advantage) with their altitude. That’s something that — look, Tommy lost three games up there. Think about that.”
The cold weather is tough on teams coming into Foxborough. Since 2015, opponents have scored just 17.1 PPG in the playoffs when playing at Gillette. Keeping the stadium open-air is huge for New England, and the man in charge seems to agree.
The Patriots just played their last home game of the 2025 season, but hopefully they'll be returning with another Lombardi Trophy soon.