The ice storm due to hit Kansas City on Sunday must be bad, because the NFL has taken the rare step of moving the kickoff time of a playoff game.
Citing “public safety concerns,” the NFL moved kickoff of the Pittsburgh Steelers-Kansas City Chiefs AFC divisional playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, originally scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET Sunday, to 8:20 p.m. ET. That’s due to storms expected in the Kansas City area on Sunday.
The NFL said moving the start time would give local authorities more time to clear roads in the area. In a statement the NFL said “weather is expected to improve throughout Sunday.”
Kickoff of the Chiefs’ home playoff game Sunday was moved to 8:20 p.m. ET.
The National Weather Service put out an ice storm warning for northwestern Missouri on Friday.
“Periods of freezing rain will overspread all of the area by Saturday night,” the warning said. “The most significant icing is expected Saturday night into Sunday morning. Precipitation will gradually change over to rain from south to north Sunday afternoon and evening.”
The NFL has played through some harsh weather conditions before, in both the regular season and the playoffs, so it’s surprising the NFL would move the start time for this game back. There are plenty of factors to consider, such as the network programming, but the NFL said it consulted with local and state authorities, as well as both teams, in making the decision.