The Wild Card matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers will be monitored for potential weather delays/cancelations.
Weather intrusions are causing questions surrounding two games in the NFL playoffs. There may be record-breaking temperatures in Kansas City for the Chiefs versus Dolphins game, but league officials are now involved in talks about the Buffalo Bills matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. There may be a snowstorm in Buffalo at the time of the game, with snow piling up in the Northeast. New York state governor Kathy Hochul is in talks with chief NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy about the public safety precautions that may be enforced.
“We have stayed in close contact with Governor Hochul’s office regarding conditions, and our focus, as always, will remain on public safety,” McCarthy said, per Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk.
The league spoke with New York state officials to potentially cancel, postpone, or move the game elsewhere. They’re looking at all options, keeping a close eye on how safe it will be for the players and the fans. While there have been snow games in the NFL, the wind gusts set for Buffalo have reached an all-time high. Saturday and Sunday could welcome wind gusts that will reach up to 65 miles an hour.
Both teams have been preparing to play in the snow, but the game will be monitored with caution up until kickoff. The Bills carry the advantage here, having dealt with the weather for the past week, but the Steelers aren’t new to bad weather conditions. If the game were to be played in Buffalo it should be a low-scoring bout, with most of the action coming on the ground.