NFL moves Sunday’s Bills-Browns game to Detroit ahead of ‘potentially historic’ winter storm

An expected lake-effect blizzard has forced the NFL to move Sunday’s Bills-Browns game from Orchard Park to Detroit.

League spokesman Michael Signora said the NFL has been in contact with both teams based on a forecast of one to three feet of snow through Saturday, with more in the forecast on Sunday.

The game is still scheduled to be played Sunday at 1PM EST, but now the Bills (6-3) and Browns (3-6) start at Detroit’s domed Ford Field.

The Bills had a home game rescheduled due to a snowstorm in November 2014 when they defeated the New York Jets 38-3 in a game played at Ford Field in Detroit. The game, originally scheduled for Sunday, also was postponed to Monday due to both teams traveling.

Buffalo left for Detroit on Friday, where the team spent the weekend practicing at the Lions facility. The Bills arranged for snowmobiles to pick up some players who couldn’t dig their cars out of the snow to take them to the airport.

This time around, the NFL will struggle to push the game date forward as Buffalo already has a short week ahead and the Bills are already scheduled to play Detroit on Thanksgiving.

Several feet of snow are expected this week in western New York, where the Bills would host the Browns. Patches of heavy lake-effect snow will fall between Thursday and Sunday, according to Weather.com meteorologists, meaning the turf at Highmark Stadium will likely be affected.

The local Fox affiliate in Buffalo has described the storm as “potentially historic,” with some meteorologists calling for as much as six feet in the region.

The Browns practiced outside on Wednesday in anticipation of the blizzard, albeit in snowless Berea, Ohio

Lake-effect snow is caused by cool air moving over the warmer Great Lakes before dropping its load over the northeast, usually in the form of golf ball-sized snowflakes.