Ravens must wait to learn playoff opponent after Bills-Steelers game is postponed to Monday afternoon
The Ravens will have to wait a little longer to learn who they’ll play in the postseason.
The Buffalo Bills’ wild-card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers that was scheduled for Sunday was moved to Monday amid a forecast for dangerous winter weather, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Saturday.
Hochul and other officials said they were making the change for safety’s sake. “We want our Bills to win, but we don’t want 60,000 to 70,000 people traveling to the football game in what’s going to be horrible conditions,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said at a news conference in suburban Buffalo.
Officials advised residents to stay off the roads starting at nightfall on Saturday, with a driving ban taking effect at 9 p.m. The game will be played at Highmark Stadium at 4:30 p.m. Monday instead of 1 p.m. Sunday.
Hochul said she started talking with the NFL on Thursday about the possibility of having to reschedule the game.
The AFC wild-card round was originally set to be completed by Sunday afternoon, which meant the top-seeded Ravens (13-4), who received a first-round bye, would know which of four possible teams — the No. 5 seed Cleveland Browns, No. 4 Houston Texans, No. 6 Miami Dolphins or No. 7 Steelers — would travel to Baltimore for the divisional round on Jan. 20 or 21.
Instead, the Ravens must wait for the conclusion of Monday’s game between No. 2 Buffalo and Pittsburgh. Game times for the divisional round will be announced at a later date.
The Bills are familiar with weather-related schedule changes. In 2022, a lake effect storm led to Buffalo’s home game against Cleveland being moved to Detroit in November. A month later, a massive blizzard forced the Bills to delay their trip home, forcing them to stay overnight in Chicago on Christmas Eve.
The Associated Press contributed to this article. This story might be updated.