God bless Buffalo Bills fans. I don’t know why their team has an outdoor stadium, but they do, and the fans still go to those freezing, snow-clad games. I just can’t imagine. But, before last weekend’s Buffalo Bills against Pittsburgh Steelers game in Buffalo, the team was asking fans to shovel and paying them $20 an hour to do so. Now, the Buffalo Bills are asking fans, lovingly called the Bills Mafia, to shovel again. This time, it’s before their big playoff game Sunday (Jan. 21) against the Kansas City Chiefs at home.
The organization is asking fans to help clear up snow on their home field and stadium in Orchard Park. “We’re going to need some snow shovelers (again)! Help get Highmark Stadium ready for our Divisional Round playoff game,” the team said on social media. The team added that, like last time, it would pay eligible shovelers $20 an hour.
The National Weather Service says that Orchard Park could get as much as 8 inches of new snow by Saturday. Also, temperatures on Sunday will be between 17 and 24 degrees, according to the weather service, so that snow isn’t going to melt.
While an additional 8 inches of snow is nothing to wink at, it’s not as much as last weekend. Ahead of the Buffalo Bills vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game, Orchard Park got a whopping 2 feet, or more, of snow. Yikes. They even had to postpone the playoff game one day, so that fans could safely get to the stadium.
The Buffalo Bills will take on the Kansas City Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl Champs, at 6:30 p.m. ET. on Sunday. Whoever wins gets to go to the AFC Championship Game.
I really don’t get why Buffalo has an outdoor stadium. Add Green Bay and Kansas City to that list. But, I get that with these cities, there’s kind of a pride amongst fans and the team that they’re used to the cold and snow. It’s a cultural thing, I suppose.
The Bills and Chiefs matchup is a thrilling one. But, the other four playoff games this weekend also look very exciting. For the AFC, in addition to the Bills and Chiefs fame, the Houston Texans will head to Baltimore to play the Ravens. The Texans are playing excellent lately, but it will be an upset if they beat the Ravens. Baltimore, for many, is a favorite to actually win the Super Bowl. Looking at the NFC, the Detroit Lions will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field in Detroit. The Lions just won their first playoff game in more than 30 years, and fans are pumped to finally, possibly, see their favorite team make it to the Super Bowl. Also, the Green Bay Packers take on the San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco.
So, who will win? That’s the huge question. Check out the full schedule, odds and predictions for all of the playoff games this weekend here. Oh, and there are also some Super Bowl 58 scenarios that we love. In a perfect world, one of these will pan out. Find our list here.