Steelers-Bills postponed: Here’s what needs to occur for AFC wild card game to happen Monday as scheduled

The Steelers-Bills wild card game scheduled for Sunday afternoon got pushed to 4:30 p.m. ET Monday after the New York governor’s office consulted with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Saturday.

But, according to a source familiar with the Buffalo Bills, there are still obstacles to overcome in order for the game to be played on that day, at that time, in that stadium, with fans in the stands.

“Everywhere you turn, there’s a trap door,” the source said, explaining all the unique issues of playing this game during a snowstorm in Western New York at Highmark Stadium.

As it stood Saturday early evening, the NFL felt confident the game would be able to be played as scheduled Monday, according to league sources. But if weather issues persist into Sunday evening, a potential second postponement until Tuesday may be in the cards for the NFL.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency and issued a travel ban for Erie County beginning at 9 p.m. ET Saturday. The ban will be reassessed at 6 a.m. Sunday depending upon the forecast. In her Saturday press conference, Hochul urged travelers to make their way into Buffalo as soon as possible.

“Now is the time for these truckers in particular,” Gov. Hochul said, “whether they’re coming over the Peace Bridge, coming up from Pennsylvania or coming from the east, make sure that they monitor the conditions right now. Travel now, not later.”

The Steelers are planning to travel to Buffalo at 3 p.m. Sunday, according to sources. The team had originally planned to travel Saturday at that same time before adjusting a day later, opting to keep their same schedule.

But with the forecast calling for oscillating weather bands and wind gusts between 50-65 MPH on Sunday afternoon, one wonders why the team is waiting to get to Buffalo.

“The bullseye of this storm is scheduled to hit the Southtowns, probably Orchard Park, right at the time we’d have 60,000 people traveling larger distances, from Pennsylvania, coming to this [game on Sunday],” Gov. Hochul said Saturday.

Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz said the area will experience “blizzard-like” conditions, and that some areas of the county “will probably receive more than two feet of snow in basically a 36-hour period.”

That would lead to potential issues at Highmark Stadium if the weather is as bad as it could be. The Bills are asking for volunteers to shovel snow out of the stadium beginning at 8 a.m. Sunday, when it had previously been scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. Saturday.

The Bills, through a third-party, will work shovelers in shifts throughout Sunday and into Monday morning “if needed,” while paying the shovelers $20 per hour and providing complimentary food and breaks in warm areas.

In the past when this has happened, snow shovelers usually started at the top of the stadium and removed snow down by chutes to field level. That snow is put into trucks and taken out of the stadium via the one tunnel at Highmark Stadium. Shovelers would work from top to bottom, then clear the field, which is currently covered by a tarp.

If the snow is light, a source said the stands can be cleared in time for Monday’s game. But if the lake effect snow is heavy, that could create issues for clearing both the stands and field.

“The stadium does not need to be clear until Monday now,” Gov. Hochul said. “That gives us a lot more breathing room to be able to manage the conditions to see whether the bands are, whether they dumped as much snow as expected. Hopefully the winds have died down a great deal. So we expect a very different weather dynamic Monday based on today’s modeling.”

Then there’s the question of the safety of the playing surface, if the game is to be played Monday afternoon. The field has been covered, but the temperatures have been below freezing since Saturday afternoon, and forecasts show temperatures to remain below freezing through the scheduled Monday game.

The NFL uses a Clegg Impact Tester at different points on a field to determine the surface’s hardness. According to the NFL Players Association, for a field to pass the test, it must measure below 100 units of gravities. In a 2022 game between the Lions and Panthers in Charlotte, N.C., the field tested out at a maximum of 150g, and players on both teams complained about the hardness of the field.

The Highmark Stadium field would likely need to be warmed by heaters — there is no complex and expensive underground heating system in the 50-year-old stadium — to be playable. And players will no doubt have to adjust their cleats based on the hardness of the field.

There’s then the question of a distribution of public resources. Gov. Hochul and county executive Poloncarz noted that police officers should be out assisting those in the snowstorm Sunday and not directing traffic at the stadium.

If the weather is bad in Southtowns where the stadium is located, a source noted it would be hard to devote resources to the game specifically. And if the weather is bad in the Northtowns, then the resources would likely need to be diverted there.

Obviously, there is a strong hope — and an even stronger desire — that this game can be played as scheduled Monday. If the forecast changes in the favor of Western New York, then this will simply be another playoff game in Buffalo.

We’ll all know a bit more after we wake up Sunday morning.