How Shedeur Sanders' Time in Colorado Prepared Him for Extreme Cold in Chicago

Former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders heads into one of the coldest games ever at Soldier Field, but his past performances in rain and snow show he can handle bad weather on the biggest stages.

Dec 7, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) watches from the sidelines late in the fourth quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Colorado coach Deion Sanders has watched his son walk into plenty of pressure games, but few have looked like this on paper. Forecasts in Chicago call for a high around 11 degrees, wind gusts pushing 20 miles per hour, and a real feel that could dip below zero when Shedeur Sanders and the Cleveland Browns visit the Chicago Bears in Week 15. 

For Shedeur, however, Sunday is not his first weather test. The former Colorado Buffaloes star arrives in Chicago coming off a career day in flurries at home, throwing for 364 yards and three touchdowns and adding a rushing score in a 31–29 loss to the Tennessee Titans at Huntington Bank Field. 

The performance didn’t come without mistakes, but it also showed that Sanders can get the ball out on time and play strong if the elements turn messy.

Bad Weather Questions

Sep 21, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) during the first half against the Baylor Bears at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Early in his college career, there were questions around Shedeur that centered on comfort. Was he someone who needed perfect conditions and a perfectly clean pocket to carry an offense most nights? Colorado’s move into the Big 12 and the struggling offensive line began to answer that, starting with that unforgettable rain-soaked thriller in Boulder against Baylor in September of 2024.

On a wet night, Shedeur threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns, ran for another score and kept firing even as he was sacked eight times. The signature moment came on the final play of regulation, when he rolled left and launched a 43‑yard Hail Mary that LaJohntay Wester pulled down in the end zone to force overtime in a 38–31 win. It was the kind of play where elements stack up on a quarterback’s mechanics, but instead, the throw came out and cut through the air with enough touch to give Wester a chance.

That game was not perfect. With special teams woes and the offensive line playing poorly, Colorado needed Travis Hunter’s forced fumble at the goal line in overtime to finish the job.

What The Titans Game Really Showed

Dec 7, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) throws a pass against the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Fast forward to last weekend, and Shedeur’s first true “winter game” as an NFL starter offered a similar situation. On one side was Cleveland's 31–29 loss, with a key interception in the third quarter and a failed two-point try in a bizarre wildcat trick-play that kept the Browns from tying the Titans. On the other was Shedeur’s performance, going 23-of-42 passing, 364 yards, three touchdowns through the air, one on the ground and stretches where he made some huge plays despite the flurries on a cold night.

Although Sanders held the ball too long on the interception that helped dig a hole the defense could not quite climb out of, he also avoided sacks and kept the offense alive late in the game with some seriously impressive throws over the middle. For a rookie still learning the speed of the league, it was a performance that gave clear proof that weather alone might not deter him from a good performance.

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The Biggest Test of All

NFL legend Deion Sanders Sr., facing, hugs his son Shedeur Sanders before an NFL football game at Huntington Bank Field, Dec. 7, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio. | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The storyline around this game vs the Bears is not whether Shedeur Sanders has ever handled bad weather, but how he’s going to respond to extreme conditions. He has already played well with rain in Boulder and even a December night in Cleveland, yet forecasts for Soldier Field might be something entirely different. With single‑digit temperatures at kickoff, wind chills plunging toward minus‑15, and warnings to fans about frostbite risk, this game will be a harsher test than any snowfall in Boulder.

Sanders is not pretending the cold will not matter, but his approach fits his time in Colorado. He has said the one thing he cannot do is arrive “mentally defeated” by the forecast, and stressed that whatever it feels like out there simply is just part of the job. He has already adjusted his routine with double sleeves and extra layers, and is focusing on the preparation, a mindset that echoes the way he handled that rainy Baylor comeback.

Analysts might be predicting that the Bears’ defense will be a nightmare for him, and the weather will be too much of a factor, but none of that changes the larger story for Shedeur who has already answered in rain in Boulder and snow in Cleveland. Soldier Field is simply the next test, but as we’ve seen previously, whatever the forecast says, he has shown up before, and he has the tools to do it again.