Bills playoff game moved to Monday

BUFFALO — A potentially dangerous winter storm forecast to hit the Buffalo region over the weekend led the NFL on Saturday to push back the Bills’ wildcard playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers from Sunday to Monday.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the NFL cited public safety concerns as the reason for the postponement, with up to 2 feet of snow projected to fall on the Buffalo region over a 24-plus-hour period starting Saturday.

“The decision to move the game to Monday was made in consultation with New York Gov. 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 NFL and Bills said in a joint statement.

Hochul said she started talking with the NFL on Thursday about the possibility of having to reschedule the game because of what she called a “dangerous storm.” Hochul, who is from just outside of Buffalo, closed her news conference by saying, “Go, Bills.”

“We want our Bills to win, but we don’t want 60,000 to 70,000 people traveling to the football game in what’s going to be horrible conditions,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said at a news conference in the Buffalo suburbs.

Officials advised residents to stay off the roads starting at nightfall, with a driving ban taking effect at 9 p.m. The game will now be played at Highmark Stadium at 4:30 p.m. Monday instead of 1 p.m. Sunday.

The forecast for the Buffalo area called for heavy snow and winds gusting as high as 65 mph (105 kph) Saturday, with 1 to 2 feet (.03 to 0.6 meters) or more of snow eventually piling up. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning lasting through 7 a.m. Monday, saying that “travel will be very difficult to impossible at times,” with the combination of snow and very strong wind causing near-zero visibility.

Heavy winds and blowing snow began to hit the area by midafternoon Saturday.

Much of the storm was expected to be concentrated in a narrow band of lake-effect snow hovering over Buffalo’s southern suburbs, which includes the Bills’ home in Orchard Park.

The brunt of the storm is expected to wane through Sunday night. The forecast for Monday called for a chance of snow showers throughout the day and building in the evening, with a high of 19 degrees (minus-7) and wind gusts of up to 29 mph (47 kph).