Patriots’ Will Campbell is hoping for a freezing Gillette Stadium with Chargers coming to town

New England Patriots

“I enjoy playing up here. I enjoy being a part of this team and playing with these guys.”

FOXBOROUGH — Will Campbell didn’t grow up playing in the cold weather.

For most of his football career, the 6-foot-6 left tackle has suited up down south, playing high-school football in Louisiana before taking on several SEC foes during his standout career at LSU. 

The 22-year-old tackle may not be a Dunkin aficionado quite yet, but he’s become acclimated to the chilly conditions in place in New England, especially at this stage of the NFL calendar. 

The same can’t be said for the Los Angeles Chargers, who will come to town on Sunday night to take on New England in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

As such, Campbell was candid Wednesday when asked about his desire for freezing temps in New England’s first home playoff game since the 2019 season. 

“I think it can help us,” Campbell said. “It’s not even going to be cold this weekend, but obviously it would be nice if it was. I do not mind the cold. I honestly never have.”

The weather in New England isn’t exactly expected to give way to tundra-like conditions on Sunday.

“I think it’s the one weekend it’s not going to be cold. I think it’s supposed to be 50 degrees this weekend,” Campbell added.

While the weather might be mild, the temperatures are once again expected to dip into the mid-30s by the time that the Patriots and Chargers take to the field at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. Kick-off is set for 8 p.m. 

Even temperatures dipping into the 30s could put Justin Herbert and the Chargers out of their comfort zone. Los Angeles beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium last month in a game where temps hovered in the teens, but Herbert acknowledged the chilly weather impacted his broken left hand. 

“Yeah, early on in warmups, I could tell it was getting pretty cold and just not being able to move it as much,” Herbert said after that win against Kansas City. 

New England has actually played its best football on the road this season, going a perfect 8-0 away from Gillette Stadium while sporting a 6-3 showing in Foxborough. 

Still, Stefon Diggs believes that there are numerous advantages that come with holding home-field advantage, especially come the postseason. 

“A little bit more comfortable. You at the crib. … You don’t have to travel,” Diggs said. “Weather might be consistent with you, because with what you deal with day in and day out. It’s always cold here, so those are the advantages.

“I mean, you still got to go out there and play football in between the lines, but it’s always good when you’re home and you’ve got your home crowd. I really look forward to the home crowd — one time for Pats Nation. Give us your best.” 

Mike Vrabel echoed a similar message about the need to make the Chargers uncomfortable on Sunday beyond dialing up blitzes. 

“It’s just got to be a tough place to play in January,” Vrabel said. “If we’re able to get there in January like we are, we have to create an environment that makes it difficult to play.  …. We need to create a hard environment, we need to play well, let our crowd feed off of us and let us feed off of them.”

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.