Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) announced Saturday that Sunday’s playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers is delayed until Monday at 4:30 p.m. EST.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell agreed with Hochul to postpone the game by 29 hours due to severe winter weather conditions in western New York. Hochul reported that her emergency response team predicts there will be a snowstorm producing two to three inches per hour starting at 6 p.m. EST and continuing overnight. According to Hochul, that rate makes it “almost impossible” to keep the roads and highways clear.
“Now you may see clear skies in the morning, but don’t be fooled,” Hochul said in a news conference. “The bull’s eye of the storm is predicted to hit midday Sunday afternoon, right during the scheduled Buffalo Bills game.”
“The decision to move the game to Monday was made in consultation with New York Governor Kathy Hochul in the best interest of public safety, and with the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers, as the region prepares for the storm,” the Bills wrote in a statement.
CBS will still air the game across its network, and it will also be available for streaming on Paramount Plus.
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New York has already issued a full travel ban in Eerie County starting at 9 p.m. EST Saturday. This will allow snow plows to keep the roads clear near Highmark Stadium, which is near the coast of Lake Eerie. At 6:00 a.m. EST on Sunday, Hochul will offer an update and determine whether to extend the travel ban or not.
Monday’s game will likely not interfere with the only other playoff happening that day between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Florida at 8:15 p.m. EST.
