Many football fans called the Minnesota Vikings’ wild win over the Buffalo Bills last week the NFL’s game of the year.
Based on the weather forecast, there could be more craziness on Sunday in Orchard Park, N.Y.
The National Weather Service is calling for “paralyzing” lake-effect snow in the Buffalo area starting Wednesday night and going all the way through the weekend, setting up what could be unpredictable conditions for Sunday’s Bills-Cleveland Browns game at Highmark Stadium.
“Crippling” lake effect snow is due to start Thursday night.
National Weather Service meteorologist Phillip Pandolfo told the Buffalo News the area could be looking at multiple feet of snow throughout the course of the long-term event.
“This is going to be a really significant event,” Pandolfo said. “Prepare your emergency car kits because you could get stuck in your car. And prepare to be stuck inside for an extended period of time. … Prepare sooner rather than later.”
Bills coach Sean McDermott said the team is in communication with the NFL about the weather.
Winter weather, of course, has impacted several Bills games over the years as the area tends to get belted by lake-effect snow at times.
The most recent game with huge snowfall came in 2017 when more than 20 centimetres fell during the Bills’ 13-7 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts.
“It was worse than what you saw on television,” CBS Sports producer Jim Cornell told Sports Illustrated. “I directed another snow game, but nothing like this where you could not see a yard marker.”
“It was once-in-a-lifetime conditions,” then-CBS analyst and former Bill Steve Tasker said.
Stadium workers used TV breaks to shovel and use snow blowers to try to clear yard lines — though it didn’t really work because of the heaviness of the precipitation.
After LeSean McCoy’s game-winning 21-yard touchdown run, fans threw countless snowballs onto the field, while some players did snow angels.
Interestingly, the Colts’ quarterback in that game was Jacoby Brissett, who is slated to start for the Browns on Sunday. Brissett threw for 69 yards, 12 more than Bills starting quarterback Nathan Peterman.
In 2014, snow was so bad in Western New York leading up to a Sunday home game that the NFL decided to move a Bills-New York Jets contest to Detroit and play it on a Monday night — with all tickets free.
Any Bills season-ticket holders who could make it to Detroit’s indoor Ford Field were given seats in the best sections of the stadium.
Buffalo beat the Jets 38-3, and tight end Scott Chandler delivered a memorable touchdown celebration when he pretended to shovel snow in the end zone before a pro-Bills crowd of 56,044.
It was treated like a Buffalo home game with the Bills’ ‘Shout’ song playing whenever the team scored.
“It was a little bit of a tribute to the people of Buffalo,” Chandler told AP. “You want to do something special for our fans. They did a great job showing up for us tonight, and for the people back there, we’re behind you.”
The Browns, who also play on the shores of Lake Erie, and Bills also played a memorable snow game in Cleveland in 2007.
The Browns won 8-0 with Cleveland’s Phil Dawson kicking an amazing 49-yard field goal in horrific conditions.
“It was like something on the Discovery Channel about the North Pole,” Bills running back Marshawn Lynch told AP.