'Loudest Ever!' Rams Players Warn Baker Mayfield of Ford Field Atmosphere
The Wildcard Playoff Round at Ford Field featuring the Los Angeles Rams and the Detroit Lions was the first postseason event hosted at the venue.
Ford Field is known to be loud, but this game was different. Marking the team's first home playoff game in three decades, fans could not contain their excitement.
On Sunday night, Detroit achieved a peak decibel level of 133.6 during the thrilling 24-23 playoff game as reported by the Lions.
Just to put this number in perspective, it surpasses the previous stadium record of 127.6, equivalent to the noise produced by a 747 jet engine during takeoff, per the Center for Disease Control.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are getting ready to face Detroit at Ford Field for the Lions' second postseason home-field advantage.
To gauge the intensity of the atmosphere, Mayfield sought insights from his former Rams teammates accustomed to the deafening noise of Detroit's stadium.
According to Mayfield, his contacts described Ford Field as "the loudest thing they've ever heard," via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
Stressing the need for thorough preparation, Mayfield highlighted the significance of everyone understanding the game plan and communication protocols.
“We’ve got to be completely ready for that. It just comes down to everybody knowing exactly what our game plan is," Mayfield said. "All the calls to and from, because there could be certain times where they can’t hear certain things. They might have to plug and play some of the words."
Participating as the away team in such a loud environment presents its challenges, with difficulties in communicating play calls and executing snaps without potential false starts or other penalties.
The Rams managed to navigate these challenges well, minimizing mistakes. However, they did find it necessary to utilize two timeouts due to the impact of the energetic crowd noise.
Perhaps, it was seasoned quarterback Matthew Stafford who had the best grasp of the noise level from his time in Detroit, providing valuable insights into what the team might encounter in this playoff clash.
And now, it seems Mayfield's former Rams teammates are doing their best to help provide him with an edge.
