This week’s “Thursday Night Football” viewers may have briefly thought that something was wrong with the picture signal.
The division rival Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns met Thursday for a game that was played amid heavy snow in downtown Cleveland. The snow really started to come down in the second half especially, leading to a wild video going viral of the conditions at Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland’s official X page posted a clip of the snowfall completely engulfing the “TNF” broadcast view in the third quarter.
“this is not TV static, this is in fact snow in downtown Cleveland,” the Browns wrote.
this is not TV static, this is in fact snow in downtown Cleveland pic.twitter.com/qw097kwTt7
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 22, 2024
The brutal weather predictably affected the gameplan for both teams. Run-heavy drives became a necessity (with Cleveland’s Nick Chubb and Jameis Winston and Pittsburgh’s Jaylen Warren finding the end zone for rushing scores), pass plays were used only very modestly, and field goal attempts beyond 30 yards became non-existent in the second half.
Winston’s fourth-quarter rushing touchdown in which he went airborne in the snow was especially entertaining.
AIR JAMEIS
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) November 22, 2024
NFL games played in ruthless weather are always a great spectacle to watch. That was the case with a memorable Pats-Bills game from a few years ago and was also the case with the Steelers-Browns game on Thursday night.
