The lake-effect snowstorm in Buffalo that forced the NFL to maneuver Sunday’s Bills-Browns game to Detroit looks brutal.
As much as 3-6 feet of snow is predicted to be dumped on Western Latest York between Thursday and Saturday night, and the league is taking as many precautions as it could possibly before time runs out.
“That is a serious impact. There’s currently a travel ban,” an NFL source told CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson as they waited for Friday’s update. “Snow is coming down hard right away. I don’t know what’s the contingency if everyone can’t make it to the airport or we will’t fly out.”
The Bills announced that they canceled practice Friday resulting from the weather and are meeting virtually.
Sunday’s Bills-Browns continues to be scheduled to be played, though the league moved the matchup from Buffalo’s Highmark Stadium to Ford Field in Detroit. It can keep its scheduled 1 p.m. ET airtime on CBS. The Lions play the Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, making their field available.
That’s, if the Bills could make it there. The team had planned to fly to Detroit on Saturday and return to Buffalo on Sunday, pending weather, Bills GM Brandon Beane said. The team could opt to stay in Detroit, with their Week 12 game against the Lions at Ford Field on Thanksgiving.
Friday morning, star linebacker Von Miller took to Twitter to share a clip of the weather conditions in the realm, showing what seemed to be his driveway and truck covered in snow. Trees and a basketball hoop may also be seen stacked with snow.
“Good Morning Buffalo,” Miller wrote in his tweet.
Because the snow mounts, the NFL is concentrating on safety — league spokesperson Brian McCarthy confirmed in a tweet Thursday that the choice to maneuver the sport “has nothing to do” with Highmark Stadium being an out of doors facility and not using a dome. As an alternative, the NFL, Bills and native and state officials wouldn’t divert safety resources from the community.
It’s a sentiment shared by Bills brass.
“The choice to maneuver the sport to Detroit has every part to do about safety,” Bills chief operating officer Ron Raccuia said. “Safety first has been what we’ve been talking about here, really for the last 48 to 72 hours.”