The Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to play in one of the marquee games of the NFL season with Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes facing off Sunday night in Tampa.
But the weather may force this game into a neutral site.
With Hurricane Ian — an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane — making landfall Wednesday just south of Tampa, the NFL has looked into contingency plans surrounding Sunday night’s game.
On Wednesday, the league officially made its backup decision. If conditions do not allow the game to take place at Raymond James Stadium, the league will move the matchup to U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis — home of the Minnesota Vikings.
According to NFL exec Jeff Miller, there is no change to the #Bucs–#Chiefs game on Sunday as of now. They are discussing all matters with local authorities. Should Hurricane Ian force a change, the game would be played in Minnesota at US Bank Stadium.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 28, 2022
As of Wednesday, the game is still set to take place in Tampa. But with the Vikings playing Sunday morning in London, the stadium is open, and there won’t be any time conflict with the Vikings game.
If it happens, this would be the first time since 2014 that the NFL was forced to move a game for weather reasons.