The NFL is not planning to rid the world of a snow game.
The league shot down a rumor from a Pittsburgh radio station that Sunday’s Steelers-Bills wild-card playoff game could be moved to Cleveland due to weather concerns.
A winter storm watch is in effect for Erie county, the home of the Bills’ Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., with the possibility of seven or more inches of snow and heavy winds this weekend, according to WGRZ.com.
“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,” Brian McCarthy, the NFL’s vice president of communications, told the station.
Rumors of a potential move to Cleveland circulated earlier this week when KDKA Pittsburgh host Marty Griffin said he had some inside intel.
“My boys work at the stadium in Cleveland, got a phone call to get ready,” Griffin said Thursday. “I was told this, just saying.”
Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 in Pittsburgh, whom Griffin said had sources in Buffalo telling him there’s “zero percent chance” of the game moving, then cited Griffin’s information.
“Per @KDKARadio host Marty Griffin: Sources tell him Steelers-Bill could get moved to Cleveland if lake effect weather and state of emergency is declared in Western New York on Sunday,” Fillipponi tweeted. “He says that Browns stadium officials have been told to ‘be ready’
“Wow.”
It seemed that tweet put the Cleveland possibility on the radar, and reporters reached out to the league to see if that could happen.
The league then shot down the rumors.
While the NFL moved a Bills game against the Browns in 2022 to Ford Field in Detroit due to weather, it’s hard to imagine the league making Buffalo give up a home playoff game and play closer to Pittsburgh.
The weather is affecting bettors, though, as the total opened at 43 and has since dropped to 35 at Caesars Sportsbook, a stunning drop.
The second-seeded Bills are heavy 10-point home favorites.