Nov 3, 2019; Orchard Park, NY, USA; General view of the Buffalo Bills logo at New Era Field before the game against the Washington Redskins. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
The NFL was forced to deny a wild rumor about the state of Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers-Buffalo Bills playoff game.
The weather forecast for Sunday’s game in Buffalo is not ideal from a football perspective. Temperatures are forecast to be in the 20s, with wind gusts as high as 50 MPH on top of that. There is also a chance of snow, and it could be heavy if a band of lake-effect snow pops up over the stadium.
Per @KDKARadio host Marty Griffin: Sources tell him Steelers-Bill could get moved to Cleveland if lake effect weather and state of emergency is declared in Western New York on Sunday. He says that Browns stadium officials have been told to “be ready”
Wow
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) January 11, 2024
The weather conditions helped spark a rumor about the game potentially being moved to Cleveland. The rumor started on Pittsburgh’s KDKA radio by host Marty Griffin, who claimed to have heard from sources that the Browns’ stadium officials had been told to be ready.
Multiple sources tell me there's no truth to rumor the Steelers-Bills wild-card playoff game could be moved to Cleveland due to weather concerns in Western New York.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) January 11, 2024
NFL spokesperson to me, via text, regarding this report: “Not true. There’s no change to the game’s status.” https://t.co/0wqT8hUbFU
— Sal Capaccio 🏈 (@SalSports) January 11, 2024
The blowback to this claim was immediate, and multiple reports followed shortly after denying that relocating the game was under consideration at all.
Bills reporter Sal Capaccio of WGR heard directly from an NFL spokesperson who said there was “no change to the game’s status.”
We have certainly seen how rough things can get in Buffalo in the worst conditions. However, moving a playoff game is the last thing anyone would want to do. Moving the game to Cleveland, where travel would be even easier for Pittsburgh fans, would be even worse.
The real risk appears to be how much the windy, cold weather could impact the game. It may not be conducive to Josh Allen and the Bills’ passing game, which would not be ideal from Buffalo’s perspective.
