The NFL made a big move with a playoff game. On Saturday, the league announced that the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Buffalo Bills wild-card playoff contest had been postponed to 4:30 p.m. ET on Monday. The game was originally scheduled to kick off on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo. New York Governor Kathy Hochul first announced the newsย on social media which Adam Schefter of ESPN later confirmed. The reason the game was postponed is the winter storm forecasted to impact Western New York throughout the weekend.ย
“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 p.m. ET and will be televised by CBS,”ย the NFL said in a statement. “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.”
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High winds up to 40 mph, frigid wind chills and heavy snow are expected to impact Buffalo on Sunday. Before the announcement, the Bills asked fans to come to the stadium on Saturday night and shovel snow. Earlier this week, the Bills talked about how the weather will impact their playoff game against the Steelers.ย
“The wind may move the ball a little bit,” quarterback Josh Allen said after Wednesday’s walk-through practice, per the team’s official website. “Typically, it’s going to be, with weather like this, a game that both teams are going to run the ball and it’s going to be very possession-limited, so we got to make these possessions count.” ย
“We’ve been through a lot of games here where we’ve had to, no pun intended, weather the storm that way, right,” head coach Sean McDermott said. “It affects how you play the game, how you manage the game. So when we have that here, it’s an added dimension to our preparation.” ย
The Bills are coming off a regular season where they won the AFC East title for the fourth consecutive season. The Steelers have reached the playoffs for the third time in four seasons and clinched their 20th consecutive year with a .500 record or better.
