Bills snow shovelers: Buffalo fans scramble to clear Highmark Stadium in time for playoff game vs. Steelers

Crissy Froyd

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Bills snow shovelers: Buffalo fans scramble to clear Highmark Stadium in time for playoff game vs. Steelers image

A winter storm in Buffalo has taken its best shot at derailing the Steelers vs. Bills wild-card playoff game, causing it to be postponed and creating a little shakeup in the NFL postseason schedule.

The game was moved to Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET from Sunday at 1 p.m. ET due to the storm, which brought more than 25 inches of snowfall to the area around Highmark Stadium as of Monday morning. The game will be played without further delay, the NFL said, following a travel ban in Erie County that lasted more than 24 hours.

Crews were still working Monday morning to clear the area around the stadium — including a call from the Bills organization to enlist several hundred shovelers to help get the stadium ready for its 70,000 fans in time for kickoff.

MORE: Coldest games in NFL history

Bills fans shovel stadium

Bills fans have been pitching in after the winter snow storm caused the wild-card matchup to be delayed. The call originally went out Friday.

“Be part of the team to get the venue ready for the hometown Bills Wildcard Playoff game vs. the Steelers!” the Bills' call-to-action read. "Shovelers can shovel snow throughout the night on Saturday into Sunday morning if needed."

With the game delayed 24 hours, Bills fans began arriving Sunday night, working overnight into Monday morning.

Bills stadium snow shoveler offer

  • $20 per hour
  • "Complimentary beverages and breakfast"

After Orchard Park received 17 inches of snow between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, the Bills offered to hire as many as 200 fans to help clear the stadium. It included $20 per hour, in addition to complimentary food and breaks, as crews working overnight into Monday.

Buffalo travel ban

A travel ban was in effect for Erie County until 6 p.m. ET, but fans arriving the the stadium to shovel snow were granted an exemption, allowed to use specific roads to report for snow removal.

On Sunday morning, the Bills released a statement asking fans to abide by those bans until they were lifted, seeming to slow their recruitment of snow shovelers. 

The Bills said they will offer complimentary shuttles to and from Highmark Stadium during the game due to "limitations" in parking.

How much snow did Buffalo get?

Orchard Park, N.Y., where the Bills' stadium is located, received an estimated 25 inches of snow as of Monday morning. 

Throughout Western New York as a whole, snowfall totals ranged between 1 feet and 3 feet, according to local media estimates.

Crissy Froyd

Crissy Froyd Photo

Crissy Froyd is a content producer at The Sporting News covering college football, the NFL and other sports. A graduate of LSU in 2021, she has nine years' experience writing about football across all levels, specializing in quarterback analysis and the NFL Draft. Her work previously appeared in USA Today, Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports, among other outlets.