The Buffalo Bills are no strangers to playing in the snow — and sometimes retreating from it — and will likely see a wintry wonderland when they take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
The Buffalo region is expected to get snowfall leading up to Sunday afternoon’s game, with forecasts calling for snow to continue falling during the game itself. The Bills have had some memorable affairs in the snow, including the division-clinching win over the San Francisco 49ers last season.
Bills and Bengals Expecting Precipitation
There had already been snow forecasted for the weekend, and estimates closer to the game call for “likely” accumulation during the afternoon hours.
Eric Snitl, meteorologist at WROC-TV in Rochester, wrote that there would be steady snow during the game, though no heavy accumulations.
“BILLS GAME UPDATE: The Bills host the Bengals Sunday afternoon. It is becoming increasingly likely snow is going to fall in some capacity during the game,” Snitl wrote in a post on X. “Accumulations look limited, likely on the order of a dusting to perhaps an inch or two.”
Snitl added that while the snow won’t be heavy, it could have an impact on the game.
“Still, it could be enough to coat the field at times & impact play,” he wrote. “Snow aside, it’s going to be cold with air temperatures in the 20s and a breeze knocking a few more degrees off in the wind chill department. If you’re heading to the game, make sure to dress accordingly!”
Bills Have Experience in the Snow
That forecast is strikingly similar to the time the Bills and Bengals met in Orchard Park for a divisional-round playoff game in January 2023. There was a light but steady snow that covered the field just before the game, leading to difficult footing.
After the Bills suffered a 27-10 loss, wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie said the Bills didn’t have the right gameplan for the weather conditions.
“If we were in a dome it would have been a totally different game,” McKenzie said on the “Go Long” podcast with Tyler Dunne.
McKenzie said the Bengals responded to the snow by simplifying their game, but the Bills didn’t follow suit.
“The Bengals ran basic routes,” McKenzie said. “Maybe we should’ve done that, ran basic routes, like out routes, go balls, instead of running routes that you have to be going lateral or coming back to the football, or turning and running curls and things like that.”
The Bills played better in the snow last season, dismantling the 49ers in a December matchup that clinched the division. That game was famous for Josh Allen’s historic performance, where he threw and ran for touchdowns and also recorded a receiving touchdown when he took a pitch from Amari Cooper and raced over the goal line.
The snow has sometimes been too much for the Bills as well. The team had to relocate a 2023 game to Detroit after heavy snowfall buried the stadium, and they were forced to move a 2014 game to Detroit as well.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Bills Get Big Update on Snowfall for Bengals Game appeared first on Heavy Sports.