Sunday night's Divisional Round game between the Ravens and Bills will be frigid.
Temperatures in Buffalo are expected to be around 16 degrees at kickoff with a feels like of 11 degrees, but Roquan Smith made it clear that the cold conditions won't play a role for the Ravens.
"Nobody cares about any of that stuff. It's about playing ball," Smith said. "It can be on a cement track. It can be wherever. I don't care if it's negative. We're going to be ready, and trust me, the cold will not be a factor at all. Believe that."
The rest of the Ravens locker room expressed a similar sentiment. With that said, here is what the Ravens are doing to stay warm in Buffalo:
OLB Tavius Robinson
As a guy that is from a cold environment (Canada), what is this weekend like for you? What do you do differently playing in a game that's cold like this?
Robinson: Nothing really, it's just a regular day for me.
How often have you played in temperatures like this?
Robinson: Since I started playing football, really. When the season goes long, it gets way colder than it's going to be this weekend. So it's not really that cold for me.
Short sleeves again?
Robinson: Yeah, short sleeves, some Vaseline on the arm, and that's really it.
How cold would it have to be for you to change up what you do?
Robinson: It would have to be probably, in Celsius, like negative 30. So whatever that is in Fahrenheit (-22), it would have to be that cold to wear sleeves.
Do you enjoy playing in the cold?
Robinson: Yeah, I like it. I feel like when you're in the cold, you have unlimited energy compared to playing in the heat.
Has anybody been talking to you about how to handle the cold at all?
Robinson: Not really, no. Some guys wonder how you do it, but you just do it, really.
DE Brent Urban
Being from Canada, playing in the cold, it's going to be a cold week. Do you do it any differently?
Urban: I mean, I'm so used to it. I kind of like playing in the cold. It's slightly different. It honestly feels like the game is a little slower when it's colder. I think not everybody is super warm, so it's harder to get in the flow of things, I guess. Obviously, it hurts a bit more to fall and that kind of thing. I don't think there's any secret to it. It's football at the end of the day. You can put on warmer clothes and you go.
Has anybody in the locker room or around been talking to you about how to deal with the cold at all?
Urban: No, I don't think so. We have enough cold games here in Baltimore anyway. That Cleveland game was freezing, right? We'll randomly get cold enough games where it's within 10 degrees anyway.
I asked Tavius how cold it would have to be for him to put sleeves on.
Urban: See, Tavius gets on me because I'll wear sleeves during practice and stuff. But for the game, I'll never wear sleeves. I'll wear the warmer cutoff and I'll wear a ski mask. But sleeves, you just don't want to wear it.
Is there a temperature? He said negative 30 Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit) he would wear sleeves.
Urban: Negative 30? That's what he said? (laughs). I don't think there's a temperature because we have the sideline jackets, the heated benches. Man, it's so much easier than when we were in high school in Canada. It was a different story, dude. Like, we were just freezing. I'm putting on hoodies and hoodies over hoodies.
LB Malik Harrison
Do you have any tricks for dealing with cold weather games?
Harrison: I definitely use Vaseline and warm skin, mix it up together, just cover my whole body. That is the only thing I do
What is warm skin? I haven't heard of that.
Harrison: It's like some cream that's supposed to just keep you warm, but yeah, I just mix that with Vaseline and I'm good for the rest of the game.
And does that get passed around the locker room? Has this tip been shared?
Harrison: Some people make some concoctions, I'm not going to lie. I've been seeing some things. I'm like, I might have to try that. But I stick to what I know just because, but I might have to try it this game.
What's the coldest game that you've ever played?
Harrison: Atlanta here [in 2022]. That was definitely the coldest.
RB Justice Hill
What do you do to stay warm?
Hill: Heaters. (laughs) No, I mean, once you start, it's really not bad. You just keep your body warm [by] moving around. Try not to get too comfortable by the heaters and all that stuff, because then you're not going to want to go out in the cold. Just keeping a balance between using the heaters, using the benches, and just moving around. I just try to keep my blood moving.
Are you a sleeves guy? Does it matter?
Hill: No, I can't wear the sleeves, but I throw the jacket on, though. I throw that jacket on and take it right off. I can't be on the field with the sleeves on.
Because the ball is too slippery or what?
Hill: Yeah, I just had a bad experience when I was a young kid with the sleeves on and the ball comes out, you have no control over it because it's so slick.
Wow, so it's a fumble from your youth. How young were you?
Hill: I can't remember. Probably third grade, maybe. It probably wasn't even anything important, but it was just like, dang. So, yeah, no sleeves.
CB Marlon Humphrey
How do you handle the cold?
Humphrey: I don't really handle it too differently. ... I might stay on the sideline a little longer with the heater, but I will cut it a lot [further from] the '10-second' mark. I'm more of a '30-second' guy, but [it's] really no different. I've always wanted to play in like three feet of snow, to where all they can do is run the ball. It won't be that snowy, but [it's] really no different. I know they're used to the cold, but it gets cold enough in Baltimore, so I don't think it will be much different.
You warmed up shirtless in one of the coldest games in team history. Will you do that on Sunday?
Humphrey: There is a possibility if my mom doesn't get too mad at me and tell me I might get sick and get pneumonia and everything. So yes, that was a cold game. I do remember that one, but I'm excited. I'm excited to go to Buffalo. I know their fans ... It will be crazy in there, so it's kind of a football player's dream, to be in a tough environment, really crazy, powerful fans, and I'm sure the Flock will bring whoever can make the trip, and we'll appreciate all that can come.
OL Patrick Mekari
Do you do anything differently to stay warm?
Mekari: I put warm skin on. It's like lotion. Imagine if you put like Vaseline all over your body. It's like a wind protector. It feels good.
As an offensive lineman, is that something that you guys kind of relish? Knowing the defense will be cold and might not want to hit as much.
Mekari: Yeah, I mean, it's fine. The weather conditions are the weather conditions, you just got to go do it.
TE Isaiah Likely
How do you try to stay warm?
Likely: I've been playing in the cold since I was a baby. Once my hands and feet go numb, I'm straight. I'm good, I'm good because I don't feel it. So I get out there in pregame and run as fast [as I can], and do everything, catch without gloves on at first. So when I put gloves on and I get back to the heater, I'm already acclimated.
TE Mark Andrews
How do you deal with the cold?
Andrews: "Just keep moving. That's all it is. Just keeping moving."
Head Coach John Harbaugh
Have you thought about your sideline attire for Sunday?
Harbaugh: "I'll be putting the extra layer on. It's going to be great. We're excited about every part of the game. We're excited about the environment. We're excited about the opportunity to play in a game like this against an opponent like this. We're excited about the conditions. We're excited about the temperature. We're excited about everything. But we need to be focused and locked in on the thing that really matters, which is the game, our execution and the way we play. That's what we're definitely supremely focused on."
