New York’s ORCHARD PARK (AP) – Josh Allen, the quarterback for the Bills, had no trouble getting to practice on Wednesday morning despite the Buffalo region experiencing its second major lake-effect storm in less than a week. This was because the majority of the snowfall fell north of Allen’s residence.
That does not imply that the quarterback does not have a fallback in “Squirrel,” his neighbor.
“Nope, no Squirrel yet,” he said, alluding to retired farmer Dave “Squirrel” Winter, who had previously extricated Allen. He went on, “But I’m sure the next few days,” before inquiring as to how long the storm might linger.
When told that the snow might persist until Friday, Allen shrugged and remarked, “Yeah, Buffalo weather.” We’ll work things out.”
Mother Nature has become accustomed to throwing a snowball or two into the schedule of the ever-resourceful Bills.
The Bills had to move their home game against Cleveland to Detroit in 2022 due to a significant storm. It happened again the previous weekend when Buffalo’s 31-17 victory over Pittsburgh in their playoff opener was rescheduled from Sunday to Monday due to a winter storm.
The Buffalo Bills (12-6) practiced on Wednesday in anticipation of hosting the Kansas City Chiefs (12-6) in a divisional round playoff game on Sunday night. Despite the bitter cold, the possibility of another two feet of snow falling on the area, and an Erie County travel ban, none of these factors could stop the team from playing.
The storm is not expected to affect the game; Sunday’s forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, a low of 11 degrees Fahrenheit (minus -12 Celsius), and no precipitation. Additionally, workers at the stadium were already hard at work clearing the concourses and parking lots of snow.
For the Bills, it was more crucial to avoid losing a day of practice and meetings in a week that was already cut short due to a Monday game, especially since the Chiefs were well-rested after their Saturday night 26-7 victory over Miami.
The center Mitch Morse stated, “The sport thrives on routine.” The mere fact that you can work it out in person is fantastic. Sometimes it’s just so difficult to do over Zoom.”
All of the players showed up for meetings and a quick walk-through practice, which head coach Sean McDermott postponed by an hour to account for the early snowfall, with the sun shining and major roads around the Bills complex in Orchard Park clear.
“We made sure the safety of the players and everyone else was our top priority here, and everyone did an amazing job clearing the roads,” McDermott remarked.
Messages from The Associated Press asking county executive Mark Poloncarz to comment on whether the Bills were authorized to breach a travel ban that encompassed Orchard Park and the towns surrounding it were not returned. Poloncarz did, however, leave a comment on X, which was formerly known as Twitter, expressing his gratitude to “most” for not driving.
The storm caused the NHL to reschedule the Sabres’ home game against the Chicago Blackhawks from Wednesday to Thursday. The storm passed through Buffalo for the majority of the day.
Ed Oliver, a defensive tackle for the Bills, has grown accustomed to handling Buffalo storms at the Bills facility. Oliver, who is from Houston, claimed to now own a tractor that has a snowblower mounted on the front that he can control from the driver’s seat.
The fifth-year player said of the storm, “I knew it was coming.” “Until now, we’ve been spared, but suddenly, in true Buffalo fashion, it decides it’s going to snow for the next week or two.”
O’Cyrus Torrence, a rookie guard from Greensburg, Louisiana, who split his college career between Florida and Louisiana-Lafayette, is unfamiliar with the wintry weather.
It’s a work. An hour earlier than usual, Torrence made sure he could make it to practice. “You gotta make sure you wake up early in the morning and see how bad it is and give yourself time to clean out and get ready,” he advised. “If I said I’m used to it, I would be lying.”
Complete security Micah Hyde has experienced snowfall during his first four seasons in Green Bay and his previous seven seasons in Buffalo.
When asked if it gets old, he sighed heavily.
“I won’t lie. Today when I woke up, I felt like, “Ugh.” With a smile, Hyde said. Yes, I have experience with it. This is obviously nothing new. However, that confused me this morning.”
NOTES: In case Sam Martin is unable to play after suffering a left hamstring injury on Monday, the Bills added P Matt Haack to their practice squad. Haack, a seventh-year athlete, played for Buffalo in 2021. Both wide receiver Tyrel Dodson (shoulder) and tight end Rasul Douglas (knee) limited practice after missing Monday’s game. WR Gabe Davis (knee), LB Terrel Bernard (ankle), and CB Christian Benford (knee) are among the six injured players who did not practice, according to McDermott. The team is treating them day by day.
