Bills face more weather-related disruptions ahead AFC divisional playoff game vs. Chiefs
The NFL gets its marquee quarterback matchup in the divisional round on Sunday night and Bills fans get another January game at Highmark Stadium. The early forecast? Plan for cold, breezy conditions.
However, could the conditions be adverse enough to force another postponement like the one for the Buffalo Bills' wild-card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Chiefs vs. Bills weather forecast
The AccuWeather forecast for the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills AFC divisional playoff game in Orchard Park calls for temperatures in the teens, about 15 degrees, with winds out of the southwest at 15 mph, with gusts up to 22 mph. There’s a small chance of precipitation, but no expected accumulation.
The National Weather Service in Buffalo forecast for Orchard Park on Sunday evening calls for mostly cloudy conditions with a low around 19 degrees.
Both teams dealt with frigid conditions in the wild-card round, with the Bills matchup with the Steelers delayed amid feet of snowfall and whiteout conditions and the Chiefs playing the Dolphins in the fifth-coldest playoff game in NFL history at minus-4 degrees.
Weather forecast for Orchard Park, N.Y.
Bills fans will do well to keep an eye on the forecast as game day approaches. Forecast accuracy improves as the day gets closer and confidence in the meteorological models improves.
A five-day forecast has about 90% accuracy, but that drops to 80% for a seven-day outlook and declines to 50% for a 10-day or longer forecast.
This is the first time in more than three years that the Chiefs vs. Bills matchup will take place at Highmark Stadium, with the last five matchups in Arrowhead Stadium.
Allen and Mahomes have a 3-3 record in their career, with Allen holding the edge in regular season matchups (3-1) and Mahomes getting the better of him in the postseason (2-0).
While the Chiefs have won their last two January matchups, the Bills have won three of the last four matchups, including a 20-17 victory on Dec. 10.
What Sean McDermott had to say about Bills' preparations
As Mother Nature might not be through complicating the Bills’ playoff schedule, head coach Sean McDermott was left assessing his options on Tuesday.
McDermott said the team, for now, is still scheduled to practice on Wednesday and Thursday, while monitoring a forecast that projects a lake-effect storm dumping nearly two feet of snow on the Buffalo region.
"We’ve got a plan in place to make sure we’re getting the players in at the right time, as well as the staff, and trying to be on top of that from a scheduling standpoint," McDermott said. "So we’ll handle it. Confident in that. And the best thing we can do right now is just have great communication around it for right now."
A travel advisory is currently in place for Erie County and county executive Mark Poloncarz is encouraging employers to allow individuals to work from home through the rest of the week. It’s too early to determine whether officials would impose a travel ban, which would potentially prevent Bills players from driving to their facility.
It would mark the second time in less than a week the region has been hit, after a lake-effect storm dumped between 1 and 3 feet of snow over the weekend, with much of it concentrated on the Bills home in Orchard Park, N.Y.
When is the Bills vs. Chiefs game?
The Bills and Chiefs play at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 21. The game is the last matchup of the divisional round, following the NFC divisional playoff between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions.
The game will air on CBS. It’s also available on streaming through Paramount+ and FuboTV.
Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo weather for Bills vs Chiefs playoff: Forecast for Orchard Park
