ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Maybe next time, take the time to shovel the stadium, Buffalo Bills staff. And perhaps limit the whiskey shots to two or three max before you enter the game, Bills fans. Because what happened in front of a nationally televised audience here Saturday night was a disgrace.
Do Better, Buffalo Bills Fans
The nearly foot of snow that fell on — and remained in — the Highmark Stadium grandstands led to some truly knucklehead behavior Saturday night.
Playful snowball throws turned into a barrage directed at Dolphins players, coaches and staff — before, during, and after plays. A second-quarter Dolphins red zone drive was absolutely impacted by the projectiles launched while a Tua Tagovailoa pass was in the air.
Ultimately, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel had enough and sought action — asking the officials if thrown snowballs can result in a penalty. Indeed, it can, McDaniel was told — and will — if someone is struck.
That slowed the blizzard of snowballs chucked at the field — but didn’t stop it. Touchdown celebrations looked the same after the announcement that they did before it.
The fault, of course, falls on the people responsible. But don’t let the Bills’ stadium staff off the hook, either. They chose to let tons of snow remain in their stands when the gates opened — having the fans dig out their own seats.
Dolphins-Bills Snow Game A No-Go
If there was a silver lining, it’s this: Mother Nature deprived those well-lubricated souls of additional ammunition.
The Snow Game, at least in the first half, was a bust. While there were some intermittent flurries, it was nothing like what was expected leading into the game.
A thin but unrelenting band of snow blowing in off Lake Erie began Friday morning and went straight through the day and night in Western New York. The only thing that saved a messier night: The band tracked just north for most of the afternoon after dumping upwards to a foot here — burying the bleachers that the heartiest of Bills fans populate.
The reprieve made the lives of the region’s hard-working public safety officers and municipal workers a bit easier than it otherwise could have been.
Dolphins — as in the actual water-dwelling mammals — don’t swim in waters below 50 degrees. The Miami Dolphins, meanwhile, should be more adaptable. Tyreek Hill spent his career in Kansas City. Jerome Baker went to Ohio State. Alec Ingold is a Badger. Raheem Mostert attended Purdue.
Jaelan Phillips — who attended sun-kissed UCLA and then the University of Miami — said in the days leading up to the game he had never played in the snow. But there he was pre-game, shirtless, in sub-freezing temperatures.
The Bills — very mindful of their advantage with the elements — wanted to make sure each member of the Dolphins roster knew exactly how cold it was.
Pregame, the team’s video board operator would give real-time actual and feels-like temperatures — with a fraudulent wind chill listed in the single digits (the National Weather Service reported that it was actually in the 20s).
But no amount of gamesmanship or happy thoughts could change the reality: It was cold. It was, at times, snowy. And it was very, very rowdy.