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Alaina Getzenberg, ESPN
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Bills‘ wild-card round game against the Pittsburgh Steelers has been rescheduled to Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET from Sunday at 1 p.m. ET to prioritize safety in the region because of an incoming snowstorm. The game will still be broadcast on CBS.
The move was announced at a news conference held by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday afternoon. The decision came after conversations with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, emergency response teams, Bills leadership and the NFL.
“Now, you may see clear skies [Sunday] morning, but don’t be fooled,” Hochul said. “The bull’s-eye of the storm is predicted to hit midday Sunday afternoon right during the scheduled Buffalo Bills game. … [The game will] continue to be played at Highmark Field right in Orchard Park. It’s all part of our critical efforts to keep New Yorkers, motorists and fans safe from this wildly unpredictable storm.”
Hochul said she began conversations with the NFL on Thursday to discuss options because of the weather. She said this was not a decision reached because of playing conditions, but instead for the safety of everyone in the area, and that the change in date and time will give crews time to clear the roads.
“As most know, there are hundreds of deputies, from not only the sheriff’s office, but others that assist on game day. They need to be assisting in the middle of a snowstorm, helping those in need, not directing traffic at a football stadium,” Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz said. “… None of us want to see that many vehicles on the road tomorrow morning trying to get to a football stadium knowing that the conditions are going to be as bad as they are.”
A winter storm warning is in effect for Buffalo and surrounding counties, including Orchard Park in Erie County, the site of the stadium, until 7 a.m. Monday. More than a foot of snow — and as much as 3 feet — is expected in the Buffalo area, according to AccuWeather, and with winds potentially as high as 65 mph. Snowfall at rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour is expected to begin around 6 p.m. Saturday, creating challenges to clear the roads. A travel ban is also being put in place beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday. The travel ban will be reevaluated at 6 a.m. Sunday.
The forecast caused the over/under total on the game to move dramatically during the week at sportsbooks. The total opened at 42.5 at ESPN BET and got as low as 33.5 on Saturday before being pulled off the board with the game moved to Monday. It reopened at 38.5 on Saturday.
The Bills were 10-point favorites on Saturday at ESPN BET.
Winter weather still could be a factor Monday, with forecasts calling for snow and windy conditions. Hochul said they “expect a very different weather dynamic” with wind speeds projected to be reduced.
The Steelers had not left Pittsburgh before the decision was reached to change the timing of the game.
The Bills had a home game in November last season against the Cleveland Browns moved because of extreme snow and wind so that resources would not be diverted from the Buffalo community. The game was played at Ford Field in Detroit.
Saturday night’s playoff game in Kansas City between the Chiefs and Dolphins is also dealing with extreme weather as the temperature is expected to drop as low as minus-5 degrees.
That game is not being postponed, however. “There are no public safety travel concerns for getting to the stadium for fans, the clubs, stadium personnel or public authorities,” an NFL official told ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques.
The last time a playoff game was moved because of weather, the NFL changed the time of the Steelers’ 2016 divisional-round game in Kansas City from 1:05 p.m. ET to 8:20 p.m. ET. The Steelers won 18-16.
The Buffalo Sabres are still scheduled to host the Vancouver Canucks at 4 p.m. Saturday in downtown Buffalo.
ESPN’s Brooke Pryor and David Purdum contributed to this report.
