Snow and wind hit Buffalo just in time for Monday's Bills-Patriots game

When you come to Buffalo in December, getting smacked in the face by winter is always a possibility.

Hours before Monday night's game between the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots, those at the stadium were posting pictures and videos of the weather. It wasn't pleasant.

There was a lot of wind, blowing snow and cold. The gusts of wind were about 50 miles per hour, so strong that it knocked one of the flags off the top of the goal post. The offensive players — particularly Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones, who was born and raised in Jacksonville — had to cringe. The Bills' opening kickoff, with the wind at their backs, went all the way into the stands. On New England's first possession, a pitch straight back to running back Damien Harris was fumbled, and then a punt looked like a shot put coming off the leg of Patriots punter Jake Bailey.

Bailey's second punt went 15 yards straight into the Patriots sideline. It was a crazy weather night.

The alert sent by NFL Football Operations a few hours before kickoff made it sound like a miserable night was ahead in the stadium:

• Pregame: Cloudy. Very windy, with wind gusts to 50-55 mph. 40% chance of snow showers. Snow accumulation of a dusting to 1/2” possible. Temperatures in the mid to lower 30s.

• Game: Cloudy. Very windy, with wind gusts to 45-50 mph early, decreasing to 40-45 mph after 10pm. 40% chance of snow showers. Snow accumulation of 1/2-1” possible. Temperatures in the lower 30s to upper 20s.

• Postgame: Mostly cloudy. Windy, with wind gusts to 35-40 mph. 30% chance of snow showers. Snow accumulation of a dusting to 1/2" possible. Temperatures in the upper 20s.

It was not a great scene in Buffalo, unless you were sitting in your warm living room watching.

Heading into Monday night, there hadn't been too many bad weather games in the NFL this season. It made sense that Buffalo got one.