Snow Bowl No More: Bills-Browns Moved to Detroit

Remember how we were all fantasizing about seeing the Josh Allen-led Buffalo Bills playing in a snowstorm? All those fun memes that came out over the past few hours? Those were good times. Unfortunately, those dreams of a 2017 Snow Bowl revival will have to remain in people’s minds as the Bills-Browns game has been officially moved to Detroit, per The Athletic’s Tim Graham.

While the venue has changed, the time of the game has not. According to Tom Pelissero (NFL Network) the game will remain at 1 pm.

What This Means for the Bills

Playing in 3-6 feet of snow would’ve been problematic for many reasons.

Trying to tackle players is hard enough when you know where they are, let alone when everyone is (potentially) buried under snow. Imagine throwing the ball and it immediately gets stuck in a snowbank. Or trying to snap the ball but instead just shoving snow into the QB’s face.

But, on a more serious note, a pass-heavy team like the Buffalo Bills would have been at a significant disadvantage in those conditions against a run-heavy Cleveland Browns team. So moving the game to Detroit’s Ford Field should provide the optimal environment for Allen to let it rip.

Now, before the pro-domers come out of the woodwork, having a domed stadium in Buffalo would not solve this issue. Remember, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome collapsed because of 43 centimeters of snow. In American terms, that’s 1.41 feet of snow. Do you think a domed Bills stadium could withstand 3-6 FEET OF SNOW??? (The answer is “no.”)

It should also be mentioned that this isn’t the first time a Buffalo Bills game has been moved to Detroit. In 2014, the Kyle Orton-led Bills beat the New York Jets in Detroit 38-3 (and Scott Chandler had a killer TD celebration).

They also faced and beat the Lions in Detroit that season as well. That game ended with a Dan Carpenter 58-yard FG and then-Bills DC Jim Schwartz being carried off the field. (That game was also notable for a fan’s reckless use of a laser pointer to distract Carpenter on a missed 50-yard FG attempt.)

Ticket Holders Will Be Refunded

For those fans who have tickets to the game in Buffalo, fear not. You will receive a refund, though the timeline may depend on your purchase method. Meanwhile, tickets will go on sale for Ford Field tomorrow (Friday 11/18).

But Questions Remain

However, there are many questions left after this announcement: Can Ford Field handle the change from indoor carnival to NFL game in that short a timeframe? Will the turf, which has been problematic in the past injury-wise, have an impact? Do those Twitter trolls who say the Bills can’t “handle” snow actually know what it’s like to deal with that amount of snow?

We’ll find out soon enough. But what we do know is there will be Buffalo Bills football Sunday afternoon at 1 pm.

Featured Image: NBC Sports