A massive blizzard remains in the forecast for Buffalo, and it could force Sunday’s game between the Browns and Bills out of Orchard Park.
Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that several alternate locations are under consideration for the Week 11 game, including Detroit.
That would make sense for two reasons. One, the stadium is available, since the Lions play the Giants in New Jersey. Two, the Bills play in Detroit next Thursday.
Other available NFL stadiums in the loosely general vicinity of Buffalo this weekend include Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and FedEx Field in D.C. The NFL likely would prefer to not play the game in Cleveland, since that would give the Browns an unwarranted home-field advantage. (In 2005, a Giants-Saints game that was due to be played in New Orleans was shifted to Giants Stadiums, due to Hurricane Katrina.)
The looming Thanksgiving Day game for the Bills limit the league’s options, since moving the game to Monday or Tuesday would require moving the first of the league’s three Thanksgiving games.
Cabot notes that a decision likely will have to be made by Friday. By then, however, it could be too late to get the Bills out of Buffalo.
However things play out, the disruption won’t make it any easier for the Bills as they try to recover from a two-game losing streak. Especially with games to be played on Sunday and then on Thursday. Followed by a game the following Thursday in New England.