It's December. It's supposed to be cold in Green Bay.
Sunday's outlook when the Dallas Cowboys travel to face the Packers at Lambeau: 57 degrees, with a 90 percent chance of rain.
Fifty-seven degrees! That, friends, is not December Wisconsin football weather.
The last time the Cowboys played a game in Green Bay in December was the "Ice Bowl," when it was a reported -13 degrees at game time in 1967. During last January's playoff tilt, it was 24 degrees.
"I'm sure the people from Texas like the weather forecast," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Thursday, via ESPN.com.
While the warmer climate isn't the reason the Packers have lost two straight home games and are currently scoring 15.6 fewer points per game at Lambeau than in 2014 -- missing Jordy Nelson and a discombobulated offense are the root causes -- not playing in the cold wipes away part of the Packers' home-field advantage.
"We're playing potentially and a little unfortunately four straight probably decent weather games," Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said this week. "I'm counting the two indoor games (at Detroit last Thursday and at Arizona on Dec. 27) and going out to Oakland (on Dec. 20) and expecting good weather and Sunday they're calling for a lot warmer than we'd like, those of us who enjoy the cold this time of year. But the cold weather I think evens things out for sure. Definitely, the pass rush and then depending on the field conditions that can lead in an offense's favor if the field is torn up. Our guys do a good job with the field so it's kind of a wash there."
The Packers can take a full-game lead over the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North with a win Sunday. The Cowboys, on the other hand, need a win to keep their hopes alive for a playoff spot in a woeful NFC East.
