The Buffalo Bills’ wild-card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers has been pushed back to Monday due to a winter storm, New York governor Kathy Hochul announced on Saturday.
The game between the AFC’s second and seventh seeds was originally scheduled for 13:00 local time on Sunday, but forecasts have suggested up to seven inches of snow could fall across Western New York throughout the weekend.
The NFL shut down reports that the game could be moved to the Cleveland Browns Stadium on Thursday, with the Bills putting out a request for fans to shovel snow at Highmark Stadium.
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However, Democratic governor Hochul has since announced a full travel ban for Erie County due to “potentially dangerous and life-threatening blizzard-like conditions”, and the game will now take place at 16:30 local time on Monday.
On Saturday, Hochul wrote on social media: “I’ve been in communication with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell regarding the dangerous conditions in Buffalo this weekend.
“In consultation with our emergency response teams, Buffalo Bills leadership and the NFL, the Bills game will be postponed to 4:30pm Monday.”
An update on our Super Wild Card game. #PITvsBUF pic.twitter.com/0JuHh6ls5i
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 13, 2024
The Bills-Steelers game is not the only one to be affected by severe weather conditions on wild-card weekend, with the Kansas City Chiefs’ matchup against the Miami Dolphins expected to be one of the coldest in franchise history.
According to forecasts, temperatures could plummet to -5 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 degrees Celsius) for Saturday’s game at Arrowhead Stadium.
No football game in Kansas City has previously taken place in negative Fahrenheit temperatures, with the coldest contest in franchise history being a 2016 matchup with the Tennessee Titans, which saw temperatures of one degree Fahrenheit with a wind chill of -19.
How things are looking in Kansas City today @Chiefs v @MiamiDolphins set to be one of the coldest games in NFL history! pic.twitter.com/d0INOKADta
— NFL UK (@NFLUK) January 13, 2024
