They say that no one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills. But it seems that no one is more affected by the weather, either. On Saturday morning, it was announced by the governor of the state of New York that the wild card playoff game between the Bills and Steelers that was scheduled for Sunday morning will now be pushed back 27 hours.
Buffalo Bills Have Yet Another Game Affected By Weather
NY Gov. Kathy Hochul has just announced at a news conference that the #Bills vs. #Steelers game is postponed to Monday at 4:30 PM.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2024
There are some seriously adverse weather conditions predicted around the NFL for the first weekend of the postseason. Much of the talk throughout the week has been about the game in Kansas City, and rightfully so. The matchup between the Chiefs and Dolphins has a chance to be one of the three coldest games in the history of the league, as the wind chill is expected to make temperatures feel as low as -30.
But as the week progressed, the weather report for Western New York started to worsen. The forecast began to call for extremely high winds and driving snow to hit the Orchard Park area from Saturday night into Sunday, which was when the game between Buffalo and Pittsburgh was supposed to take place.
But on Saturday morning, word was released that the league had planned to change the start time of the game. Citing public safety concerns due to travel, the Bills will now play their opening playoff game on Monday afternoon, giving the city and team some time to dig out of the snowy mess that will be left behind by the storm.
Should Buffalo Have A Roof On Their Stadium?
Breaking: Steelers-Bills will be postponed until Monday at 4:30 ET, says NY Governor Kathy Hochul pic.twitter.com/w2ooipwJNu
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 13, 2024
It will be the second time in two seasons that the Bills have had a game affected by a snow storm. Several feet of snow fell in Buffalo the week before Thanksgiving last year, which forced the team to move their game entirely, from Orchard Park, New York to Detroit, Michigan. They took on the Cleveland Browns in that game, winning 31-23.
But that wasn’t the only weather-related gripe that the Bills had last year. When they were defeated in Week 4 by the Dolphins, fans and the media pointed to the sun and extreme heat as a factor, given that players were doubled over on Buffalo’s side all day while dealing with cramps and dehydration.
There have been questions as to why the Bills don’t put a roof on their stadium. The answer has always been that the elements are a part of the game in Western New York. But if the games keep getting postponed of moving to different cities entirely, then what is the point of keeping it open-air?
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