When the NFL yesterday announced it had moved the Steelers’ playoff game with the Bills to Monday afternoon, it made for some very angry fans, and not just in Buffalo and Pittsburgh.
The official NFL statement read, “Due to public safety concerns in light of the ongoing weather emergency in western New York, Sunday’s Steelers-Bills game has been rescheduled to Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by CBS. 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.”
Hochul banned all travel on the roads in Erie County (New York) starting at 9 PM last night and through 6 AM Sunday, and officials said the ban would likely be extended, with snow expected to fall at a rate of two to three inches per hour at its peak.
Meanwhile, in Kansas City, the game-time temperature last night for the Chiefs’ playoff game with Miami was minus-4, the fourth-coldest temperature in NFL history. The wind chill was minus-27. It was so frigid, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Maholmes’ helmet shattered on a hit, although the league did not say it was due to the cold.
Fans speculated on the NFL’s definition of “dangerous weather”, with special emergency stations set up in the stadium in Kansas City. The Chiefs won the game over the Dolphins, 26-7.
Monday’s Steelers broadcast on WDAD begins at 2;30.
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