Old Man Winter can huff and puff, but the Steelers-Bills Wild Card game is going nowhere.
Apocalyptic blizzard conditions are projected for the Buffalo area on Sunday. So bad is the forecast, that, according to WGRZ, up to 7 inches of snow is expected along with heavy winds and, obviously, extreme cold.
“We are monitoring conditions as we do for every game, but there have been no discussions about making a change to the game’s status,” Brian McCarthy, the NFL’s vice president of communications, told the station.
Buffalo Bills fans shovel snow outside of Highmark Stadium prior to an NFL football game between the Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills on December 17, 2022, in Orchard Park, New York. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
Speculation that the game could be moved to Cleveland began earlier in the week when Marty Griffin of Pittsburgh’s KDKA told listeners that he had been tipped off that the game could be moved.
“My boys work at the stadium in Cleveland, got a phone call to get ready,” Griffin said. “I was told this, just saying.”
Per @KDKARadio host Marty Griffin: Sources tell him Steelers-Bill could get moved to Cleveland if lake effect weather and state of emergency is declared in Western New York on Sunday. He says that Browns stadium officials have been told to “be ready”
Wow
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) January 11, 2024
A move would not be without precedent. In 2022, a Bills-Browns game was moved to Detroit due to weather concerns.
However, as the NFL says, that ain’t going to happen.
As the New York Post reports, the expected extreme weather is impacting betting. The over/under for the game dropped from 43 to 35 – an enormous drop – as the forecast worsened. While both the Bills and the Steelers rely heavily on their run games, one would think that an anticipated low-scoring contest would favor the Steelers, who are more limited offensively.
However, the Bills remain a 10-point favorite.