Steelers vs. Bills postponed: Here’s what must happen for Monday’s AFC wild card game to proceed as planned
Although there are still many impediments, the Steelers are said to have taken an aircraft to Buffalo on Sunday.
After the New York governor’s office conferred with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Saturday, the Sunday afternoon wild card game between the Steelers and Bills was rescheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET on Monday.
However, there are still challenges to be solved before the game can take place on that day, at that time, in that stadium, with spectators in the stands, according to a source with knowledge of the Buffalo Bills.
“Everywhere you turn, there’s a trap door,” the insider stated, outlining all the peculiarities of playing this game at Highmark Stadium in Western New York during a snowstormstorm.
According to league insiders, as of early Saturday evening, the NFL was optimistic that the game could go forward as planned on Monday. However, if the weather continues to be problematic into Sunday night, the NFL may have to postpone again until Tuesday.
Governor Kathy Hochul of New York has declared a state of emergency and imposed a travel prohibition for Erie County starting at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, Hochul stated that the game “would not be pushed back again”. The prohibition will be reviewed based on the forecast at six on Sunday morning. During her press conference on Saturday, Hochul encouraged visitors to arrive in Buffalo as soon as feasible.
Governor Hochul stated, “Now is the time for these truckers in particular, whether they’re coming from the east, coming over the Peace Bridge, or coming from Pennsylvania, make sure that they monitor the conditions right now.” Take a trip right now, not later.”
The Steelers arrived in Buffalo in the afternoon on Sunday. The group had originally intended to leave at that same time on Saturday, but they changed their minds a day later and decided to stick to their original itinerary.
But Orchard Park had two to three inches of snow late on Sunday morning, and more is predicted in the afternoon. The snow continues in its alternating bands, and the travel prohibition remains in place. According to the most recent projection, it will stay where the stadium is until Sunday night.
“Blizzard-like” conditions are expected, according to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who also stated that certain parts of the county “will probably receive more than two feet of snow in basically a 36-hour period.”
The Bills have offered volunteers $20 per hour to clear snow, but they are unable to begin work until after the ban.
When this has happened in the past, snow shovelers have typically started at the top of the stadium and worked their way down to the field via chutes. The one tunnel at Highmark Stadium is used to remove the snow from the stadium and place it into trucks. Shovelers would clean the field, which is now covered by a tarp, starting at the top and working their way down.
A source stated that the stands can be removed in time for Monday’s game if the snowfall is not too heavy. However, severe lake effect snow could make it difficult to remove both the
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