Chiefs-Steelers kickoff switch is an NFL playoff first
Sunday’s Chiefs-Steelers AFC Divisional playoff game marks the first time a postseason game has been moved because of weather.
The game was scheduled for 12:05 p.m. and will kick off at 7:20.
The decision to change the kickoff time was made Friday, when the forecast called for freezing rain to hit Kansas City and the region Saturday night and continue into Sunday.
The NFL issued another statement Sunday, saying the game would go on as scheduled.
“We feel comfortable, after consulting with local and state authorities and both teams, that we can proceed tonight without resulting in any negative impact on public safety resources,” the statement read.
The NFL may also use the change as a testing ground. In a tweet from his account, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network and NFL.com, said the league will use the game as a “test case for future night games,” on Sunday in the playoffs.
With a rare Sunday night playoff game because of the storm, @NFL will use the #Steelers-#Chiefs game as a test case for future night games.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 15, 2017
The first NFL Championship was played in 1933 and postseason games have weathered many conditions, including the “Ice Bowl” game played at Green Bay, Wis., on Dec. 31, 1967, when the temperature at kickoff of the NFL Championship game between the Packers and Dallas Cowboys was minus-13.
The wind chill was 59 degrees below zero at kickoff of the AFC Championship game on Jan. 10, 1982 in Cincinnati between the Bengals and San Diego Chargers.
On Dec. 31, 1988, a fog enveloped a playoff game between the Bears and Philadelphia Eagles in Chicago.
But all of those games went on and proceeded as scheduled.
According to the NFL records book, in 1932 the Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans, who later became the Detroit Lions, ended the regular season in a tie and an additional regular season game was scheduled to determine the champion.
The game was to have been played at Wrigley Field but it was moved indoors to Chicago Stadium because of heavy snow and wind. The Bears won 9-0 in a game played on an 80-yard field.
Blair Kerkhoff: 816-234-4730, @blairkerkhoff
This story was originally published January 15, 2017 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Chiefs-Steelers kickoff switch is an NFL playoff first."