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What you need to know for Steelers vs. Bills AFC wild-card game | TribLIVE.com
Steelers/NFL

What you need to know for Steelers vs. Bills AFC wild-card game

Bill Hartlep
Bill Hartlep
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AP
A Pittsburgh Steelers fan clears snow from his row of seats before an NFL wild-card playoff football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in Buffalo, N.Y.
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AP
Workers remove snow from Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. on Sunday, ahead of the wild-card matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers.
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AP
A worker helps remove snow from Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday.

It’s cold. It’s snowing. It’s windy. Get ready for playoff football on a Monday afternoon in Buffalo.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills will kick off their AFC wild-card game at 4:30 p.m.

Workers armed with shovels, plows and dump trucks continued to clear snow from inside and outside Highmark Stadium on Monday morning with tens of thousands about to descend upon Orchard Park, N.Y., a day after the game’s originally scheduled time.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of Monday’s elimination game:

Football-friendly forecast?

More than 3 feet of snow has fallen this weekend in and around the Buffalo region, forcing New York officials to initiate travel bans throughout Erie County. Winds gusting up to 65 mph made visibility nonexistent and added to the difficulty in traveling to Highmark Stadium for a playoff game, thus forcing state and NFL officials to move the game from Sunday to Monday.

Conditions remain challenging Monday, though the travel ban has been lifted. There is a high of just 21 degrees with winds in the 25-35 mph range and a possibility for an additional 3 to 6 inches of snowfall. The real feel temperature will be around 9 degrees.

If you are going …

Good luck.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz warned fans planning to attend Monday’s game that parking will be limited in some areas because of continued snow removal.

Parking lots open at 12:30 p.m., and gates to Highmark Stadium open at 2:30.

If you are curious as to how things look right now, you can always check in on the Buffalo Bills Stadium Webcam. Here’s a look at the live feed:

He also said drivers should continue to be cautious while navigating the roads around western New York, though crews worked through the night treating the roadways.

Tickets are available on the resale market for as low as $55. You might need a makeshift shovel to find your seats, however.

How to watch

The scheduling change did create quite a viewing experience for sports fans on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Steelers-Bills will be broadcast at 4:30 p.m., with Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson and Jay Feely on the call on CBS.

In the final game of Super Wild-Card Weekend, the Eagles and Buccaneers will kick off at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN.

KDKA-TV will air the BetMGM Steelers Kickoff pregame show at 11:30 a.m., and the Extra Point postgame show will follow the game on KDKA+.

On the radio, fans can listen to coverage on the Steelers Radio Network, with pregame programming starting at 12:30 p.m. on 102.5 FM and 970 AM. Bill Hillgrove, Craig Wolfley, Max Starks and Missi Matthews will have the call.

And, for Pittsburgh hockey fans, the Penguins moved up their start time to 1 p.m. for Monday’s game against the Kraken at PPG Paints Arena.

Wanna bet?

There’s still time to put a wager on the game. BetMGM set the over-under at 36.5 as of this morning, and FanDuel has it set at 38.5. The Bills are favored by 10 points by both sites.

Some of the more popular prop bets involve a Josh Allen anytime touchdown (-105) and a Najee Harris anytime TD (+190).

What’s next for the winner?

We all know that the loser of this matchup will be packing their lockers Tuesday morning and entering the offseason.

The winner will get a trip to the AFC divisional round.

If the Steelers win, they will play at Baltimore at 6:30 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

If the Bills win, they will host the Chiefs at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

In case you missed it

Here’s a look at some of TribLive’s preview content leading up to today’s wild-card game.

Winter weather continues to impact western New York as Steelers head to Buffalo for wild-card game

First Call: Plan for potential Steelers-Ravens rematch announced; ex-Bills player mad at fans calling Buffalo ‘soft’

Steelers prefer to ignore odds, history against them as underdog No. 7 seed vs. Bills

Steelers’ Mason Rudolph latest member of 2018 QB class to write his postseason story

Winter storm forces postponement of Steelers-Bills playoff game

Steelers 4 Downs: 7th place in conference standings is familiar territory

Steelers prepare for perhaps unprecedented cold, snowy, windy conditions against Bills

With Steelers-Bills set for blizzard, a look at some of the worst-weather NFL playoff games

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

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Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL | Top Stories
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