The gametime temperature when the Steelers and Bills kick off at 4:30 this afternoon is expected to be 19 degrees, with one to two inches of fresh snow arriving in the hours before the game. Twelve inches have fallen so far on Orchard Park, the home of the Buffalo Bills, which actually got off easy compared to other areas of Erie County, New York, where 27 inches of snow fell.
The Bills paid fans twenty dollars an hour to show up at Highmark Stadium starting at midnight with their snow shovels. The temperature will dip to about 14 degrees as the game wears on with wind chills of minus-5.
Defensive lineman Cam Heyward says the Steelers are ready.
Speaking last week when the Steelers were pegged as the biggest underdog of the Wild Card round, Heyward said the odds just don’t matter.
Quarterback Mason Rudolph says one of the keys for the Steelers offense will be where the defense gives them the ball.
Rudolph says the Steelers have been in playoff mode and it may help today, but it’s all about how you play.
The only player on the Steelers’ active roster ruled out of the game is All-Pro linebacker TJ Watt. The team has elevated linebacker Myles Jack and safety Eric Rowe from the practice squad for the game. NFL rules stipulate you can only elevate a player three times in the regular season, but there are no restrictions in the postseason. Jack has a sack and 17 tackles in the last three games for the Steelers. Rowe has 29 tackles, a forced fumble, and an interception.
After the Texans battered the Browns on Saturday and the Chiefs whipped the Dolphins in frigid Kansas City, the Packers pounded the Cowboys yesterday in Arlington, Texas, 48-32. The Lions then nipped the Rams in Detroit last night, 24-23.
After the Steelers/Bills today, the Buccaneers host the Eagles in Tampa to wrap up the NFL Wild Card weekend.
The pregame for the Steelers and Bills today is at 2:30 on WDAD.
The Eagles/Bucs NFC matchup tonight will be on WCCS, with the pregame at 7:45.
NFL
ESPN reports the Chargers had a virtual meeting with University of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and will meet with him in person this week. The Chargers are looking for a new head coach and general manager.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
It could be a rough week for Michigan. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Blake Corum have announced that they will leave the national champions and enter the NFL Draft.
After Kalen DeBoer left Washington to coach Alabama, the Huskies have hired Arizona coach Jedd Fisch to replace DeBoer.
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