Snowed-out team borrows Ford Field for ‘home’ game against Giants
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Snowed out in Buffalo, the Bills are heading to Detroit to play their “home” game against the New York Jets on Monday night.
The NFL announced the location and date of the game on Thursday night after a severe lake-effect storm paralyzed much of the Buffalo region. Almost two metres of snow has fallen in the Buffalo area since Monday, and another 60 to 100 centimetres is projected to fall by Friday.
The storm forced the Bills to cancel their past two days of practice because of impassable roads and driving bans in Orchard Park and many communities neighbouring Ralph Wilson Stadium.
The team intends to travel to Detroit on Friday and practice at the Lions’ facility.
he Lions are on the road Sunday in Foxborough to play the Patriots, but they’ll need their home back as soon as Thursday, when they host the Chicago Bears for their annual Thanksgiving Day game.
“We greatly appreciate the hospitality of the Detroit Lions in hosting the Bills and this game,” NFL spokesman Michael Signora said.
This marks the second time the Bills will play at Ford Field this season following a 17-14 win over the Lions on Oct. 5. It also is the second time in four years the facility has hosted a neutralsite game.
This isn’t the first time the Lions have offered up the services of Ford Field to another NFL team.
They let the Minnesota Vikings use Ford Field as an emergency venue in 2010. The Vikings hosted the New York Giants at Ford Field after the roof of the Metrodome collapsed under the weight of snow.
That game turned out to be rather significant when the Vikings’ quarterback Brett Favre’s NFL record streak of 297 consecutive games played ended that night due to a sore shoulder. The Giants won, 21-3.