The Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills are slated to play Monday at 4:30 PM/EST, their Sunday afternoon kickoff officially postponed nearly 24 hours ago.
But don’t write the new date and time in pen. Put it in pencil. Because it might get erased again.
Following a Sunday report that pushing the game a second time to Tuesday is “very much in play,” CBS Sports insider Jonathan Jones shared a similar sentiment.
“There’s going to be more snow and if it is bad, can you get that snow out?” Jones said on That Other Pregame Show Sunday morning. “I’m just going to say this. While it is scheduled for Monday at 4:30, if this weather continues to be bad, as they could predict, I don’t know if it is absolutely going to be played Monday at 4:30.”
Jones doesn’t cite a source or hint when the game could be moved to. Perhaps a Monday night game is on the table but given the minor change in time frame and the NFL likely not wanting to put a pair of playoff games on at once, the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to play Monday night, a Tuesday game is possible.
Tweeted shortly before 9 AM/EST Sunday, downtown Buffalo is currently being hammered by blizzard conditions, making roadways impossible to cross and visibility almost zero. A travel ban continues to remain in place, one that began Saturday night at 9 PM/EST.
If the game is pushed back an extra day, it’ll be the first Tuesday playoff game in NFL history. And while the rescheduling will only impact the victor in this way, it’ll create an ultra-short week for whomever comes out on top. If the Steelers pull off the upset, they’ll take on the Baltimore Ravens on the road for the Divisional Round. At the least, it’s logical for the NFL to make it a Sunday game, though the Steelers would still be on short rest. The Ravens sat starters in Week 18 and have a first-round bye.
Following Jones’ speculation, CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson, in Buffalo to cover the game, spoke with both teams.
“I spoke with the Steelers and they’re treating today just like they would’ve treated yesterday,” she said. “They’re going to have meetings and then at 12 o’clock, they’ll have a walkthrough. They expect to take flight at 3 PM. Whether their plane can get in remains to be seen.”
If conditions are as bad as they appear, Pittsburgh may have difficulty getting into the city. According to the airport’s website, all flights out of Buffalo Niagara Airport are delayed and cancelled until 6 PM/EST tonight (and that could obviously change). Arriving flights are in a similar situation, most showing the same status until this evening. Of course, the Steelers have a chartered flight but getting clearance to land in a blizzard may not be possible until conditions improve.
Wolfson said Bills players are remaining at home due to the weather and the current travel ban.
Governor Kathy Hochul made an announcement about the game getting rescheduled prior to the team leaving yesterday Pittsburgh. It would make sense for that to occur again if this game will be delayed any more length of time. Right now, it’s unclear what the status of this game is and when it’ll be played.
