Super Bowl LI just got a bit easier for kickers Stephen Gostkowski and Matt Bryant. They won’t have to deal with any wind, as the roof of NRG Stadium will be closed for the big game. The decision was announced about 90 minutes before kickoff.
Super Bowl 51: Roof at NRG Stadium will be closed
The roof will be closed for the big game this year.
Photo by Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images
The weather in Houston calls for a warm February day, though pockets of thunderstorms loping across the state brought the potential of a rainy backdrop for the big game. The high for Sunday night is a balmy 66 degrees.
Rather than chance it, the NFL decided the game will be played under controlled conditions. That’s good news for two teams with elite quarterbacks. Tom Brady and 2016 NFL MVP Matt Ryan won’t have to gameplan against the weather, leaving two battle-tested secondaries as the only obstacle keeping them from launching aerial attacks.
The closed-roof setting will be familiar for the Falcons. Atlanta played its games at the Georgia Dome this fall, going 7-3 at home and 8-3 indoors for the season. The Patriots will play their first game under a roof on Sunday, but have a solid history of playing the big game inside a controlled environment. Three of the franchise’s four Super Bowl titles came in domes, including a Super Bowl 38 win in Houston.
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