The Steelers-Bills wild card game is scheduled for Sunday afternoon Monday evening 4:30 pm pushed After consultation with the New York governor’s office NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Saturday.
But according to a source familiar with the Buffalo Bills, there are still obstacles to getting the game going that day, at that time, in that stadium, with fans standing.
“There’s a revolving door everywhere,” the source said, explaining all the unique aspects of playing this game during a blizzard at Highmark Stadium in western New York.
As of Saturday morning, league sources said, the NFL felt confident Monday’s game could go ahead as scheduled. But if weather issues continue into Sunday night, a second delay until Tuesday could be in the cards for the NFL.
New York Governor Cathy Hochul declared a state of emergency and issued a travel ban for Erie County beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday. The ban is expected to be reassessed at 6 a.m. Sunday, according to the forecast. At a press conference Saturday, Hochul urged travelers to get into Buffalo as soon as possible.
“Now is the time especially for these truckers,” said Gov. Hochul said, “If you’re coming over the Peace Bridge, whether you’re coming from Pennsylvania or coming from the east, make sure you monitor the situation now. Travel now. Not later.”
The Steelers were scheduled to travel to Buffalo on Sunday at 3 p.m., sources said. The team originally planned to travel at the same time on Saturday, then adjusted a day later and opted to keep the same schedule.
However, Orchard Park received 2-3 inches of snow Sunday morning and is expecting another 2-3 inches in the afternoon. The travel ban is still in effect and snow will continue in flurry bands. The latest forecast suggests that the stadium will remain where it is until Sunday night.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the area could experience “blizzard-like” conditions and that some areas of the county could “basically get over two feet of snow in a 36-hour period.”
The bill offered volunteers $20 an hour to shovel the snow, but there’s no word on when they could begin that work because of the ban.
In the past, when this happened, skaters usually started at the top of the stadium and cleared the snow through the forest to the field. That ice is trucked out of the stadium through a tunnel at Highmark Stadium. Shovels work from top to bottom, then clean the field, which is currently covered with tarps.
If the snow is light, the stands could be cleared in time after Monday’s game, sources told us. But if the impact of the lake is heavy, that can cause problems to clear both the stands and the fields.
“The stadium should not be clear until Monday,” Gov. Hochul said. “This gives us a lot more breathing room to manage the conditions to see if the bands are there, to see if they drop as much snow as expected. We’re hoping the wind dies down a lot. So we’re expecting a very different weather dynamic. Based on today’s modeling, Monday.”
If the game is played on Monday afternoon, there is a question about the safety of the playing field. The field is covered, but temperatures have been below freezing since Saturday afternoon, and forecasts show temperatures will be below freezing for Monday’s game.
The NFL uses the Clegg Impact Tester at various positions to determine the strength of the surface. According to the NFL Players Association, a field must have a gravity rating of less than 100 to pass the test. In the year In a 2022 game between the Lions and Panthers in Charlotte, NC, the field was tested at a maximum of 150g, and players from both teams complained about the firmness of the field.
Highmark Stadium’s field must be heated by heaters — the 50-year-old stadium has no complex and expensive underground heating system — to play. And players will no doubt have to adjust their clubs based on the firmness of the pitch.
Then there is the question of distribution of public resources. Governor Hochul and County Executive Poloncarz said police officers should be on hand to help those in Sunday’s snowstorm and not direct traffic through the stadium.
If the weather in Southtowns, where the stadium is located, turns out to be bad, it will be especially difficult to allocate resources for the game, a source said. And if the weather turns bad in Northtown, resources will have to be diverted there.
Clearly, there is strong hope — and even stronger desire — that this game can be played as scheduled on Monday. If the forecast turns in Western New York’s favor, this will easily be another playoff game in Buffalo.