Oh, snow! Vikings, Eagles now meet Tuesday

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA

A fierce winter storm hit Sunday’s Vikings-Eagles game like a blitzing linebacker, forcing a postponement in Philadelphia that displeased Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, and disrupted travel plans elsewhere in sports.

The NFL shifted the Vikings-Eagles game from Sunday night to Tuesday night because of the storm that could dump more than a foot of snow on Philadelphia. The game — the first in the NFL on a Tuesday since 1946 — will be played at 8 p.m. and televised nationally by NBC.

Still, the Eagles celebrated an NFC East championship. Sidelined by the storm, the Eagles went home and watched the Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants 45-17. That gave Philadelphia its first division title since 2006 and sixth in 12 seasons under coach Andy Reid. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter declared a snow emergency on Sunday afternoon and urged all Philadelphians to “please be careful. Please be safe.”

Pennsylvania’s governor, however, didn’t agree with the decision — “not at all.”

“This is football; football’s played in bad weather,” Rendell told KYW-TV. “I think the fans would have gotten there, the subways work and the major arteries are still open and other fans would have stayed home. But you play football regardless of the weather.”

The governor, who does football commentaries after Eagles games, was asked what Vince Lombardi would say about the postponement.

“He’d be mocking us,” he said.

Elsewhere the games went on but teams’ travel plans were disrupted. The New York Jets were forced to spend the night in Chicago, where they could mull their 38-34 loss to the Bears.

The New England Patriots routed the Bills 34-3 in Buffalo, but victory came at a cost. They were unable to travel home immediately afterward. The Patriots were forced to bus to Rochester, about an hour east of Orchard Park, N.Y. There were no hotel rooms available in the Buffalo area because of the World Junior Hockey Championship tournament in the city.

The Northeast caught the brunt of the storm. Forecasters issued a blizzard warning for New York City for Sunday and today. A blizzard warning was also in effect for Rhode Island and most of eastern Massachusetts including Boston, with forecasters predicting 15 to 20 inches of snow. The Jaguars played in uncharacteristic cold in Jacksonville, losing 20-17 in overtime against Washington. It was about 38 degrees during play, the coldest home game in team history.

The San Diego Chargers ended up playing their coldest game in nearly three years, buffeted by wind and snow in Cincinnati. It was 29 degrees with a wind chill of 17 at the kickoff. Several Chargers came out in blue shorts and sleeveless shirts for pregame warm-ups.