Once-delayed Bills-Steelers playoff game now appears likely to kickoff at 4:30 on Monday after Buffalo’s massive snowstorm raised the possibility of ANOTHER postponement

The once-postponed playoff game of the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers should be able to take place Monday at 4:30 p.m., after another day of snow in Western New York raised the possibility of another postponement.

On Sunday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she expected the game to start as scheduled, with the end of the storm allowing time to clear roads and the stadium of snow. A day earlier, Hochul and the NFL cited public safety concerns as the reason for postponing the game to Monday.

Even without football to speak of, Sunday was a memorable day for those in Western New York.

Logan Eschrich came to Buffalo to witness the snowstorm, and he even stuck around to shovel.

When the professional storm chaser saw the Bills inviting fans to help dig out a snow-filled Highmark Stadium for their postponed playoff game against the visiting Steelers, now scheduled for Monday, Eschrich couldn’t resist.

Fans, like this man, were invited to clear out the Bills’ stadium in Orchard Park for $20 an hour

Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park is no stranger to snow, but additional workers were still needed

Sniffling and shivering from the cold, Eschrich described the seemingly impossible task he and the estimated 85-man shovel crew faced while being paid $20 an hour. Winds were blowing at 30 mph (48 kph) and snow was falling at a rate of 2 inches per hour at what was supposed to be the game’s 1 p.m. EST kickoff, which was postponed to Monday at 4:30 p.m.

‘It would have been absolutely impossible (to play). We could barely see the next row from us. And unfortunately that’s still the case,” Eschrich told The Associated Press by telephone in mid-afternoon. “We’ve made progress on shoveling, but not much.”

He said the bleacher seats were completely covered in snow, adding that it was treacherous to travel just two blocks to the stadium from where he camped overnight.

“I’m very happy that they put the travel ban in effect,” said Eschrich, who works for Live Storms Media, and made the 16-hour trip north from Alabama, where he planned to take videos of tornadoes. “No one should be here.”

The Buffalo region, which includes the Bills’ home in Orchard Park, was largely at a standstill, with a travel ban due to a dangerous lake-effect storm that began Saturday and was expected to last until Sunday evening.

The storm was expected to dump between 1 and 3 feet of snow, with the heaviest accumulation around Orchard Park.

Hochul and the NFL cited safety for the postponement, with up to two feet of snow expected

With the storm expected to weaken by Sunday night, the National Weather Service forecast Monday a chance of morning snow showers and a high of 19 degrees Fahrenheit (minus -7 degrees Celsius), but with strong winds that made it feel like minus- 5 (minus-21).

Bills players and staff spent Sunday at home. The Steelers arrived Sunday afternoon after travel restrictions were lifted at Buffalo Niagara International Airport and northern parts of Erie County.

Former Bills center Eric Wood recalled first experiencing a lake-effect storm in Buffalo in November 2014, which has since been dubbed “Snowvember.” The storm dumped nearly 7 feet (2.1 meters) of snow on Orchard Park over a four-day period and led to Buffalo’s home game against the New York Jets being moved to Detroit.

Wood was one of seven Bills players in his area who had to be picked up by snowmobile and transported to the team’s location before being bused to the airport.

“The whiteout conditions are like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” said Wood, who is from Cincinnati. “Until you experience this snow and understand its effect, it is difficult to understand what can really happen in such a short period of time, and often without notice.”

Wood’s next experience with lake effect snow came in December 2017, when a storm hit an hour before kickoff and caused a stadium whiteout during a game against Indianapolis. Unable to keep up with the falling snow, stadium staff used blowers to expose the yard lines.

Their field was so covered in snow that Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri lost his balance and missed a 43-yard field goal attempt as time expired, and Buffalo won 13–7 in overtime on LeSean McCoy’s 21-yard touchdown run. Bills players celebrated by making snow angels and throwing snowballs.

“The fans really enjoyed watching us slide and slide around the field, but it wasn’t always fun playing in, not being able to move, and you’re cold and all that,” Wood recalled with a laugh.

A truckload of snow will be removed from Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York on Sunday

Today, it’s a fond memory for Wood, in part because the win helped the Bills break a 17-season playoff drought.

Former Bills special teams star Steve Tasker said winter conditions usually favor the home team.

“It’s not being able to practice the bad stuff that gets you ready to play on days like that, it’s living in it that gets you ready,” Tasker said. “Those guys get out of Miami or Houston, for example, and it just slaps you in the face.”

However, Tasker noted that the Steelers are used to playing in the cold, which should offset any advantages Monday.

One thing is certain for Tasker, who, like Wood, is part of the Bills radio broadcast team. As much fun as it was playing with the elements, he’s going to enjoy his spot in the warm comfort of the radio booth.

“I’m very happy where I am right now,” Tasker said with a laugh. “I’m not going to trade it for anything.”