Posted on 11/17/2022 5:23:42 PM PST by nickcarraway
The Buffalo Bills' home game against the Cleveland Browns is being relocated to Detroit due to a winter storm with lake effect snow that is expected to hit western New York over the next couple of days.
The game remains scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
The area is expected to get up to five feet of snow over the course of Thursday night through Saturday night, with thunder and other inclement conditions also expected.
The team said the decision to move the game from Highmark Stadium was done "in consultation with the Buffalo Bills and local and state authorities as the region prepares for the storm." The final decision came from the league office, but there has been communication with all parties involved.
Wind gusts are also expected to make traveling more difficult. It is not expected to be snowing during the actual time the game is scheduled to take place.
"The decision to move the game to Detroit has everything to do about safety," Bills executive vice president and 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."
Moving the game was not finalized until Thursday afternoon, with the Bills practicing outside Thursday in anticipation of the game. The team did practice in its indoor fieldhouse Wednesday.
The Bills are planning to try to keep as normal a schedule as possible for an away game. They are aiming to practice Friday "if able," per general manager Brandon Beane, and to fly to Detroit on Saturday. They are then planning to fly back Sunday after the game, if weather allows, and have a short practice week before heading back to Detroit to play the Lions on Thanksgiving.
"[Coach] Sean [McDermott] does a great job of messaging and making sure our guys understand it's still going to be a football game," Beane said. "Everything else is the same. It's a short flight. We're going to try to keep it as routine as possible. Is it a little disruption? Yes. But I think our guys are pros. They understand it."
The team is planning to use the visitors side of everything in Ford Field so that it is the same when they return for the game four days later.
League spokesperson Brian McCarthy confirmed that the move had nothing to do with the Bills' stadium being an outdoor facility without a dome and said the priority is that resources not be diverted from the community.
The decision was made in part to have resources available for other needs in the community and for the safety of people in the area and fans. The team had a major snow game in Orchard Park in 2017, and the Bills beat the Colts in overtime 13-7.
Buffalo had a home game vs. the New York Jets moved to Ford Field in November 2014 due to a snowstorm. The Bills won that game 38-3. That game was pushed back to Monday after being scheduled for a Sunday, but the Bills' Thanksgiving game in Detroit makes the schedule this year less flexible.
With the news that the Browns-Bills game has been moved from Buffalo to Detroit, all previous bets made on the game are voided, per Caesars Sportsbook's house rules.
The total, which moved from 47.5 to 42 (it had risen to 43 when the bets were voided) before the site change, attracted significant betting interest all week. The Browns-Bills under got more bets than any team to cover the spread besides Thursday night's game between the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers. It's rare that totals attract more bets than the point spread.
With the game now in Detroit, Caesars Sportsbook is listing Buffalo as a 7.5-point favorite and the game has a total of 48.
Those with tickets to the game in Orchard Park will have their money reimbursed. New presale tickets for the game in Detroit will go on sale at 2 p.m. ET for a cheaper price than normal game tickets with Bills season-ticket holders and fans getting first access.
"We are hoping for this to be still a home-field advantage away," Beane said. "Luckily, it's not across the country. We know Bills Mafia is all over, and hopefully those that are in Michigan area will definitely come, and hopefully the ones here that want to get out of the snow will drive over there."
Buffalo also is dealing with several illnesses on the team. Three players -- defensive back Cam Lewis, wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips -- missed Thursday's practice with illnesses. Beane confirmed that the players are dealing with an illness other than COVID-19 and are expected to be back for the flight to Detroit.
With the loss of this week's home game, the Bills will not play in Orchard Park again until Dec. 11 vs. the Jets.
I have to agree with you. There was a time in America that people had a can-do attitude, sometimes only for the stories you could tell in the future.
A few years ago we, well they in the south towns got hit with 7 feet of snow.
I’m in north towns and we got a dusting of snow.
Lake effect snow or even rain can be horrible.
Good idea it can be a blizzard by the Lake
Sissies
Wimps.
The NFL says the issue is not about the open stadium, it is about idiot fans trying to get to / from the game in impossible conditions and overloading rescue crews and such already stretched beyond reason.
Ok, the NFL said it nicer, but that’s what they really (and correctly) meant.
Darn good question. What candy ass fruits. I remember a line from that movie "A Christmas Story". The old man says "Chicago Bears? No, maybe the Chicago Chipmunks." How about the Cleveland Chipmunks and the Buffalo Butt Buddies. Talk about SNOWFLAKES.
I think that’s the reason they moved it. Even if the teams could play, the people going to - or coming from - the game would be in a mess.
Now we will never know! Bunch of pu$$ies
I have a friend in upstate NY who is a Bills fan and is probably thrilled to see the game moved. He’s a season ticket holder and a die hard fan but lives 3 hours from Buffalo and never would have made the trip with that kind of weather.
What happened to the NFL? The same thing that happened to America. Around here they’re cancelling school if it’s going to rain. We’re being governed by a bunch of wussies.
What would be great is for some diehard regular, pre-woke NFL fans to organize a football game in the empty parking lot at the original stadium. Do it on game day to demonstrate what real men can do. Put it on Rumble, you will get millions of views, replays, etc.
Then, during halftime of the NFL broadcast, have some great computer/video hacker put the snow game on the JumboTron. You could even splice in some classic John Madden to comment on the game.
One can dream.
In my previous life we needed to visit Ft Drum in December. That afternoon while we were in the airplane, that part of the world was having a lake effect snow. Ft Drum must use snow blowere, because when we got there, one had to drive into the cross roads to see if traffic was coming. Didn’t measure the depth, but it must have been close to 3 ft,
‘They are calm and happy.’
to say nothing of the refs running up to the scrum after the play and slipping and sliding the last few yards on their butts...
my father used to get such a kick out of that...
‘They are calm and happy.’
this is what happens when you are not paying attention; you post a quote from a different thread...
I might have watched a snow game.
From what I’m reading on a weather forum, the Bills are supposed to fly out to Detroit on Saturday at the height of this snowstorm, not sure how that’s supposed to work. If they can get to the northern edge of the heavy snow (around Niagara Falls NY) they could take a bus through Ontario missing most of the snow from Lake Huron there and get to Detroit in about four hours. Or fly from some airport further north in NYS.
They should play the game. But with no fans.
“How many Ice Bowls have there been?”
As far as I know, none with five feet of snow.
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