Snow-Out: Bills vs. Steelers Playoff Could Be Postponed Again: Report
With Western New York currently caught in a nasty snow storm, the NFL moved the Wild Card playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers a day back from Sunday to Monday.
While the worst of the storm will pass before then, conditions on Monday still don't look great. Accuweather's forecast for Monday calls for a high of 23 degrees with a small amount of lake-effect snow, plus winds in the high teens or low twenties. Not as bad as Sunday's forecast, but clearing the massive amount of snow from Saturday and Sunday in time for the 4:30 p.m. ET kickoff on Monday may prove difficult.
Additionally, New York governor Kathy Hochul is enacting a travel ban in Erie County starting at 9 p.m. on Saturday night, and it's not clear when it will be lifted. The Steelers are reportedly flying into Buffalo at 3 p.m. on Sunday, but if the ban is not lifted by then, another logistical problem could arise.
Highmark Stadium in the snow.
With so much still up in the air, a second postponement to Tuesday is reportedly a possibility, league and government sources told Tim Graham of The Athletic.
Obviously, that would present its own set of problems. The winner of this game will already have two fewer days of rest than their opponent, as both of the other AFC games are taking place on Saturday. Adding another day to that difference could create a logistical nightmare for the rest of the playoffs, potentially pushing a Divisional Round game to Monday, Jan. 22 instead of the weekend prior.
Tuesday games are rare enough as is in the NFL. The league has only played five Tuesday games in the Super Bowl era, all in the regular season, and four of those were due to COVID-19.
Divisional games on Monday are even rarer. The last time such a scenario occurred was in 1977, when Christmas being on a Sunday pushed the NFC divisional games to the following Monday.
If the game is indeed postponed again, the announcement would likely be on Sunday to give everyone enough time to adjust.
