Dolphins roasted for using heaters on sideline in Los Angeles ahead of cold Buffalo weather vs. Bills

Jacob Camenker

•
Dolphins roasted for using heaters on sideline in Los Angeles ahead of cold Buffalo weather vs. Bills image

The Dolphins were under a lot of heat for their lackluster offensive performance against the Chargers on "Sunday Night Football" in a 23-14 Week 14 loss.

And it wasn't just on the field. It was on the sideline as well.

Mike Tirico revealed during the NBC broadcast that the Dolphins decided to put heaters on their sideline during the game.

Normally, few would pay attention to this. Teams travel around with sideline-warming equipment frequently in the season's winter months to make sure that their players and staffers don't get too cold while on the bench.

MORE: How Dolphins' loss to Chargers impacts AFC wild-card race

There was just one strange thing about Miami's decision on Sunday: the game was being played in Los Angeles.

Indeed, it was a chillier night than usual in Southern California, and SoFi Stadium isn't a fully closed dome; it does allow a light breeze through despite largely being covered.

Still, it was 55 degrees during the game, so naturally, many were amused by the fact that the Dolphins used heaters for that contest.

This was especially true since Miami is set to play in Buffalo in Week 15. Comparatively, Buffalo's high temperature is set to peak at 34 degrees on Saturday, per Weather.com, and the Dolphins may have to battle a few inches of snow during that contest, which starts at 8:15 p.m. ET.

MORE: Tyreek Hill scores bizarre touchdown during Dolphins vs. Chargers SNF game

As such, NFL fans took time to poke fun at the Dolphins and prognosticate that Miami could struggle to adapt to the Buffalo weather.

That said, there was a subset of the NFL world that actually understood where the Dolphins were coming from and defended them.

Whichever side of the camp you fall on, it's undeniable that if the Dolphins thought it was cold in Los Angeles, then they will find themselves freezing in Buffalo on Saturday.

MORE: The key stats to know in the Justin Herbert vs. Tua Tagovailoa debate

The weather in Buffalo will also be the polar opposite of the Week 3 Bills vs. Dolphins game in Miami. Temperatures were in the 90s that day, and the combination of the sun beating down on the field and the humidity caused numerous Bills players to cramp up.

“Breathing was tough sometimes," Josh Allen said, per the AP. "We had some really, really long drives."

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.