Steelers-Chiefs start time pushed back

With bad weather ready to bear down on the country’s midsection Sunday, kickoff of Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers-Kansas City Chiefs game has been pushed back.

Sunday’s AFC Divisional round game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs was original scheduled to kickoff a little after 1 p.m. Eastern time. But the NFL has been monitoring a weather threat that’s set to hit Kansas City on Sunday, with early indications the game would tentatively go on as scheduled.

But Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Sunday afternoon’s kickoff was going to be moved, and almost immediately afterward a kickoff time was set by the league.

The #Chiefs–#Steelers game, in the interest of public safety, will now be played at 8:20 pm ET.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2017

The National Weather Service has issued an ice storm warning for the Kansas City area, and Arrowhead Stadium obviously, with freezing rain which could last through Sunday afternoon. Icy roads would make travel to the game very risky for fans, if not outright impossible, so it’s truly a matter of public safety to postpone the game.

With the looming weather threat, USA TODAY reported dropping ticket prices and plenty of available tickets for Sunday’s game on the secondary market. It’s unclear what the game’s postponement will do for potential bargain hunters now, but with the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday it won’t be a typical Sunday night. A lot of fans will not have to go to work or school the next day, so attendance should not be dramatically affected as long as the ice storm pushes through in plenty of time for kickoff.

The Chiefs traditionally get a great home field advantage at Arrowhead Stadium, and that should be the case Sunday night with plenty of loud fans in the seats.