STEELERS @ BILLS GAME POSTPONED DUE TO EXTREME WEATHER IN WESTERN NEW YORK
The Buffalo Bills vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game has been officially postponed by the NFL in consultation with both teams and the governor of the state of New York due to what she termed as “extremely dangerous weather in Western New York.”
New York governor Kathy Hochul said they are also implementing a full travel ban in Erie County starting 9pm, Saturday. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the reason for the game’s postponement has nothing to do with the field or the state of the stadium but is completely a travel and safety issue. The Buffalo Bills tweeted about its snow-covered field at Highmark Stadium on Friday.
“Due to public safety concerns in light of the ongoing weather emergency in western New York, Sunday’s Steelers-Bills game has been rescheduled to Monday at 4:30 pm ET and will be televised by CBS,” an official statement from the league read.
“The decision to move the game to Monday was made in consultation with New York Governor Kathy Hochul in the best interest of public safety, and with the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers, as the region prepares for the storm.”
Additionally, the New York State Department of Transportation confirmed Saturday morning that blizzard conditions were coming to Western New York and that driving conditions wouldn’t be feasible. The state department advised members of the public to stay off the roads so emergency services and essential workers could get where they need to go. This comes less than 24 hours after Hochul said New York is headed into a severe statewide weather event this weekend.
Game postponements are not new but have not been seen in a while, with the latest one coming 6 years ago in the 2016 Divisional Round on Jan 15, 2017. That game also involved the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose game against the Kansas City Chiefs was moved from 1:05 pm ET to 8:20 pm ET because of an ice storm at Arrowhead.
The postponement of the game has implications across the playoff picture in the AFC and means the conference’s no.1 seed, the Baltimore Ravens, won’t know who they host in the divisional round next weekend until Monday evening. This is because a Steelers’ win, who are the conference’s seventh seed, would mean that the Ravens will host Pittsburgh in a rematch of their Week 18 game at M&T Bank Stadium. That game would likely be played on Sunday with the other AFC game played on Saturday.
If the no.2 seed Bills pull off the win, Buffalo will host one of the Kansas City Chiefs – if the Chiefs beat the Dolphins, or the winner of the game between Cleveland and Houston if the Chiefs lose. That game would likely be played on Sunday and would mean Baltimore plays on Saturday.
A Bills win would mean the Ravens likely play one of the Miami Dolphins if Miami wins against Kansas City, or the winner of the Cleveland vs. Houston game if the Chiefs beat the Dolphins. The postponement of the game to Monday also means the league is less likely to have both AFC Divisional games on Saturday, Jan 20, as was previously hoped.
The new updated schedule means football galore for NFL fans as the entire weekend’s schedule features three doubleheaders on each day of the weekend. The Browns @ Texans game will kick off proceedings today at 4:30 pm ET, followed by the Dolphins @ Chiefs at 8:10 pm ET.
The postponement of the Bills-Steelers game, which was an early window 1pm game, means a change in the scheduling on Sunday. Instead of being the second game of the afternoon, the Packers will open Sunday’s games with their visit to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas before the Detroit Lions welcome former quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams to Ford Field, in what will be the first home playoff game in Detroit since 1991.
Fans will now be treated to two games on Monday, with the Bills kicking off at 4:30 pm ET, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles, who are at Tampa Bay at 8:15 pm ET.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Dan Schedel, Idibri. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.