Four memorable Bills bad weather games that stick out to team's equipment operations head

In more than two decades with the Buffalo Bills, director of equipment operations Jeff Mazurek has seen all kinds of different weather conditions on game day. He highlighted a few recent standout football games where conditions made playing, and the equipment staff’s jobs, difficult.

Bills vs. Browns — Dec. 16, 2007 — Cleveland Browns Stadium

This notable clash (and the only post-merger game to finish 8-0) happened during typical northeast conditions for the Lake Erie-adjacent squads, the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills. The team had already heard they wouldn’t be heading home after the game due to conditions in Buffalo, Mazurek said. Conditions were more favorable in Cleveland, at least during the pregame.

“I remember when we got to the stadium at like 7 in the morning, it was a light rain, but it was like 40 [degrees],” he said. “Wasn’t bad. But once pregame hit, snow came and then it was just a damn blizzard.”

The game was on grass and Mazurek said everything was muddy under the snow; he remembers having to throw out sneakers belonging to some of the staff and coaches ruined in the conditions. He doesn’t remember the game itself because of how much equipment work was being done.

“I remember going out to the field to clean cleats off and I remember just how chaotic it was,” Mazurek said.

Bills vs. Colts — Dec. 10, 2017 — Highmark Stadium

The Bills hosted the Indianapolis Colts in another December snow game which also started with no pregame precipitation. Once the snow started, it was falling heavily with inches accumulating all over the field. In those conditions, the equipment staff had to try different things and see what would work, Mazurek said.

“I still don’t know how LeSean McCoy ran in that touchdown, but yeah, maybe it was the cleats he had on,” Mazurek said.

McCoy's 21-yard touchdown run in overtime clinched the victory for the Bills in a game that saw the teams combine for just 156 passing yards — the same yardage the Bills running back picked up single-handedly on the ground.

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Bills vs. Bears — Dec. 24, 2022 — Soldier Field

In what was Buffalo’s coldest road game by temperature since at least 1967 — a chilly 9 degrees, with a minus-12 wind chill — the equipment staff outfitted players with sleeves who wouldn’t typically partake. A shipment of new shirts arrived from a manufacturer the Friday before the Bears game and the equipment staff tried them on players looking for another option.

“Guys come in on game day, up to the equipment room and sometimes we get stuff in,” Mazurek said. “... We’re constantly trying different stuff out.”

At halftime of the frigid matchup, some players took off layers, but others put them on.

“I think adrenaline [is] why guys are sleeveless in 30-degree weather,” he said. “... They’re so focused on the task at hand compared to us … we’re all kind of bundled up on the sideline.”

Bills vs. Eagles — Nov. 26, 2023 — Lincoln Financial Field

In this thrilling overtime game, the Bills and Philadelphia Eagles dealt with a steady, light rain throughout. It was cold and everything was soaked, Mazurek said. Any game in the rain makes life difficult for the equipment staff, but he said home games and other games on turf aren’t too bad.

“But grass … everything is a friggin’ mess,” he said.

Following the tough result, a loss on a Jalen Hurts touchdown run, the equipment staff had to dry everything out and clean it.

— Steve Howe covers weather, climate and lake issues for the Democrat and Chronicle and is a Jacksonville Jaguars fan. An RIT graduate, he returned to Rochester after working around the state and in Utah. Share with him at showe@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills bad weather games: 4 memorable to equipment director