What the PIT-BUF Postponement Means for Miami

The NFL postponed the Pittsburgh-Buffalo game and it will have an impact for the Dolphins if they win at Kansas City

Alain Poupart | Jan 13, 2024

What the PIT-BUF Postponement Means for Miami /

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If the Miami Dolphins can record their first playoff win since 2000 when they face the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday, we won't know until Monday who they will face in the next round of the NFL playoffs.

But now we know almost assuredly when that next game will take place, and that will be next Saturday, Jan. 20.

That's the result of the NFL, in conjunction with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, postponing the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills from Sunday to Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET because of the blizzard expected in the Western New York area.

The divisional round of the playoffs is scheduled for next Saturday and Sunday, and there's practically no chance the NFL would make the winner of that Pittsburgh-Buffalo game play Saturday after playing Monday.

That means a Sunday game for the Pittsburgh-Buffalo game, and those are the two teams the Dolphins mathematically can't face in the next round, and the NFL always splits the AFC and NFC games each day in that round.

With a victory against the Chiefs on Saturday and a Buffalo victory Monday, the Dolphins would face the Baltimore Ravens on the road in the next round. If the Steelers were to upset the Bills after a Miami victory Saturday night, the Dolphins then would travel to face the winner of the Cleveland-Houston game.

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Published Jan 13, 2024

ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.