We're not unfamiliar with snowy, bad weather for Buffalo Bills playoff games at home. But Sunday's matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers was set to be at the extreme of that.
A storm coming into Buffalo was set to dump inches upon inches of snow on Highmark Stadium with ridiculous wind gusts that reportedly could reach up to 60 mph. With an initial 1 p.m. ET kickoff slated for this game, it seemed like it would be next to impossible for a normal NFL playoff game to be played at all on Sunday.
And in fact, it won't be played at all on Sunday. Jonathan Jones of NFL on CBS reported that New York Governor Kathy Hochul postponed the Steelers-Bills game to 4:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 15.
Breaking: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says that Steelers-Bills will be postponded until 4:30 pm Monday
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) January 13, 2024
Steelers-Bills postponed to Monday, Jan. 15
Hochul, per Jones, furthered her reasoning for moving the game.
Hochul says storm will be at its fiercest in south Buffalo Sunday in the afternoon. She has spoken with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on this. Travel ban in Buffalo starting tonight through at least 6 a.m. tomorrow as the city expects 2-3 inches of snow per hour.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) January 13, 2024
With a travel ban in effect for the city, it makes perfect sense that they wouldn't try to play an NFL Playoff game in that type of weather.
There have been plenty of snow games in Buffalo, as mentioned, but this was going to be something far more dangerous. The amount of snow falling is likely going to be measured in feet when it's all said and done. When you combine that with frigid temperatures and truly catastrophic level of winds, there was no way that players could perform in those conditions.
More importantly, perhaps, there is no reasonable way New York or the NFL could ask for fans to brave those conditions and risk potential harm for doing so. That would've been irresponsible on everyone involved's part.
It stinks to have a playoff game postponed by more than 24 hours. But it's the right call for everyone. And hey, a postseason doubleheader on Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day sounds like a nice viewing experience for fans anyway!