Getty Image / Andy Lewis
Over the weekend, NFL fans were excited to see the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins take part in a battle in the snow at Highmark Stadium.
While the players had to deal with some snow during he game, the conditions in the stands were much worse.
Snow piled up in the stands and fans could be seen shoveling snow off of their seats so they could sit during the game.
Fans in Buffalo shoveling snow off their seats so they could sit down and watch the #Dolphins–#Bills game pic.twitter.com/8KGM6H5Q5R
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 18, 2022
With all of that snow in the stands, Bills fans took advantage of the opportunity and launched snowballs onto the field early in the game. This led to referee Bill Vinovich telling fans, “We’ve just been informed that if a snowball hits someone, it’ll be a 15-yard penalty against Buffalo.”
It turns out that wasn’t exactly true. Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox appeared on “Green Light with Chris Long” earlier in the week to reveal the deception from the officials. According to Knox, the refs told head coach Sean McDermott that they couldn’t actually enforce their announcement.
🚨Dawson Knox🚨
– @dawson_knox talks Bills Mafia, Snowmagedon, his favorite TEs to watch and more
– Chris and Beau talk Christmas Code Breaks
– Casting NFL players as holiday movie characters
– Jalen Hurts’ injury
– Rookie dinner storieshttps://t.co/4ICX6UI837 pic.twitter.com/QJpZIbCykp— Green Light with Chris Long (@greenlight) December 20, 2022
Apparently, they told Coach McDermott or someone, ‘Hey we can’t actually enforce that, we just have to say that for them to stop.’ It was a just say it, to get them to calm down
It seems the ploy worked during this game as the snowball throwing stopped, but the refs have now hamstrung themselves for the playoffs. There could be another snow game in the playoffs and now fans will be well aware that the team can’t be penalized for their behavior.
It looks like the NFL’s refs will have to hope for good weather in Buffalo during the playoffs.