The NFL has refuted a report that Sunday’s AFC wild-card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y., could be moved to Cleveland due to weather.
The Buffalo area is expected to be leveled with a winter storm that could cause a state of emergency to be declared for western New York. Despite this possibility, the league said there is no truth to the report that circulated on Thursday that the game could be moved to Ohio.
Marty Griffin of KDKA-AM in Pittsburgh posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Cleveland Browns Stadium officials were asked by the league about the possibility of playing the game there. He also mentioned that fans should “be ready” for the venue switch.
“We are monitoring conditions as we do for every game, but there have been no discussions about making a change to the game’s status,” NFL vice president of communications Brian McCarthy said, per WGRZ-TV in Buffalo.
Griffin deleted his initial tweet, but he posted a clarification on Thursday morning.
“So my friends that are electricians in Cleveland work each game setting up production,” Griffin wrote on X. “They were asked if they could work this weekend in the event of the Bill’s [sic] Steeler game being moved. Thats [sic] all I know. Maybe it was Cleveland offering up the facility to the NFL.”
The U.S. National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for the Buffalo area from 1 a.m. ET Saturday to 7 a.m. Monday. Accuweather forecasts one to two feet of snow in Orchard Park from Saturday afternoon through Monday morning.
Tina MacIntyre-Yee / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA Today Network
Despite the difficult travel conditions that are expected in the Buffalo area, moving the game within two days of kickoff would be a logistical headache for the NFL. So don’t expect the game to be played anywhere other than in Orchard Park this Sunday.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET at Highmark Stadium. The television broadcast is on CBS.
