BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A potentially dangerous winter storm hitting the Buffalo area over the weekend led the NFL on Saturday to postpone the Bills' wild-card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers from Sunday to Monday.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the NFL cited public safety concerns for the postponement, as up to two feet of snow is expected to fall on the Buffalo area over a 24-hour period starting Saturday.
“The decision to move the game to Monday was made in consultation with New York Governor Kathy Hochul in the interest of public safety, and with the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers, as the region braces for the storm.” Bills said in a joint statement.
Hochul said she began talking with the NFL on Thursday about the possibility of rescheduling the game due to what she called a “dangerous storm.” Hochul, who is from outside Buffalo, concluded her news conference by saying, “Go, Bills.”
“We want our bill to win, but we don’t want 60,000 to 70,000 people traveling to a football game in conditions that would be horrific,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said at a news conference in suburban Buffalo.
Officials advised residents to stay off the roads starting at nightfall, with a driving ban taking effect at 9 p.m. The game will now take place at Highmark Stadium at 4:30pm on Monday.
The Buffalo area forecast called for heavy snow and winds of up to 65 mph (105 kph) on Saturday, with 1 to 2 feet (0.03 to 0.6 meters) or more of snow eventually accumulating. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning that will last until 7 a.m. Monday.
High winds and falling snow began hitting the area by mid-afternoon Saturday.
Much of the storm was expected to be concentrated in a narrow band of lake-effect snow hovering over Buffalo's southern suburbs, which includes the Bills' home in Orchard Park.
The severity of the storm is expected to subside during Sunday night. The forecast for Monday calls for snow showers likely throughout the day and increasing in the evening, with a high of 19 degrees (minus 7) and wind gusts up to 29 mph (47 km/h).
Postponing the game frees up sheriff's deputies, who are normally assigned to Bell's Game-related duties, to handle storm-related emergencies, Poloncarz said. Officials were concerned about Steelers fans making the trip to Buffalo under treacherous conditions.
The Steelers themselves have postponed their travel plans and will now head to Buffalo on Sunday.
A person familiar with the discussions between the NFL and state officials told The Associated Press that the league raised the possibility of moving the game to Atlanta before one day postponing it. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the conversations were supposed to remain private.
Without confirmation from Atlanta, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league's standard procedure is to have emergency sites for all games in case a game has to be moved.
“The NFL’s priority is always to ensure public safety and avoid diverting resources from authorities which could negatively impact local efforts in affected areas,” he said.
Following the NFL's announcement, the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins moved the start time of their Monday home game against the Seattle Kraken from 6pm to 1pm to avoid conflicting with the Bills-Steelers game. In Buffalo, the Sabers' home game Monday against the San Jose Sharks was postponed from 1 p.m. to noon.
The Bills are aware of weather-related schedule changes. In 2022, a lake effect storm moved Buffalo's home game against Cleveland to Detroit in November. A month later, a blizzard delayed the Bells' flight home, forcing them to stay the night in Chicago on Christmas Eve.
Although the NFL playoffs have been changed in the past for various scheduling reasons or to add tiebreaker games, this is only the third time weather has played a direct factor.
In January 2017, winter weather in Kansas City led the NFL to postpone the start of an AFC playoff game between Pittsburgh and the Chiefs from 1 p.m. to 8:20 p.m.
In 1932, the league added a tie-breaking “playoff” game in the standings between the Portsmouth Spartans and the Chicago Bears. Blisteringly cold temperatures and heavy snow forced the game to be played inside Chicago Stadium, where the Bears won 9-0 on the 80-yard field.
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Peltz reported from New York City. AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.
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