The Pittsburgh Steelers Wild Card playoff game against the Buffalo Bills will be postponed until 4:30 p.m. on Monday, New York governor Kathy Hochul announced on Saturday.
Hochul announced a travel ban in Buffalo, beginning tonight through 6 a.m. Sunday as the city expect 2-3 inches of snow per hour.
The Steelers had been set to leave for Buffalo at 3 p.m. on Saturday, and remain in the city. Neither team nor the NFL has made an official announcement.
The forecast in the Buffalo area is calling for winds gusting up to 65 mph and sustained winds of 30 mph. There is a potential for up to two feet of lake effect snow in the Orchard Park, New York area.
The heavily falling snow in narrow bands due to high winds coming off Lake Erie will make travel very difficult in unpredictable sections of the area to the south of Buffalo.
“The safety of the fans that attend the game and the staff involved is tantamount,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz, who joined Hochul in making the announcement. “I’m very glad that the NFL agreed, as well.”
The Steelers have had a playoff game moved recently due to weather. Their road playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016 was moved to a later time on the same day.
The last time the Steelers had a game move days was when their game against the Baltimore Ravens in 2020 was postponed multiple times due to COVID-19 issues on the Ravens. That game ended up being played on Wednesday afternoon.