The Bills will play their home game in Detroit on Sunday. If they can get there.
One of the strangest aspects of the snowstorm that prompted the NFL to move the game out of Buffalo is that the Bills didn’t get out while they easily could. They instead plan to fly to Detroit on Saturday afternoon.
As noted by Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the Bills strongly believe they’ll be able to fly out of Buffalo. The question becomes getting everyone to the airport.
The team couldn’t practice on Friday because they couldn’t get to the team’s indoor practice facility. If they can’t get everyone to the airport on Saturday, then what?
Same-day travel isn’t ideal, but it has happened. In 2020, the Steelers traveled to Buffalo on Sunday morning for a Sunday night game. In 2012, the Steelers made a same-day trip to and from New Jersey for a game against the Giants, given that local hotels were lodging those affected by a hurricane.
What if the Bills can’t get out on Sunday morning? The game could be delayed from 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, in theory. While it’s not unprecedented for a team to play on Sunday night and then, basically, on Thanksgiving (the Bears did it in 2018), it’s not ideal.
Then again, nothing about this situation is ideal. And it will be far from ideal if, come Saturday, multiple players and/or coaches can’t get to the airport because of the massive amount of now that continues to fall in the area.
Even if they manage to get to Detroit on Saturday, the disruption to the routine resulting from the snowstorm will make it much more difficult for the Bills than if it was a normal week.
