HE IS BACK: PITTSBURGH STEELERS ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCED HIS ARIVAL…….

We’ve had plenty of excitement so far through four games of ‘Super Wild Card Weekend’ – and we’ve still got two more to go.

After winter storm conditions in Buffalo caused the Bills’ game vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers to be delayed, the two teams are expected to face off on Monday.

And the round of playoff fixtures will culminate in the faltering Philadelphia Eagles traveling to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It looked like it would’ve been a fascinating playoff encounter anyway, but the excitement has only been ratcheted up another notch thanks to Mother Nature.

Following dangerous blizzard conditions, the game which had been scheduled for Sunday was delayed until Monday, with the NFL citing “public safety concerns in light of the ongoing weather emergency in western New York” for moving the clash.

Although conditions still remain cold and icy, the situation has improved considerably since Sunday with conditions no longer being “life-threatening,” according to New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

As a result, Hochul believes that the game will be played on Monday, despite temperatures still sitting well below freezing.

“We all know as western New Yorkers how dangerous the triple threat is – the triple threat of icy, cold temperature with high winds and the blowing snow – and how dangerous that all can be,” Hochul said at a weather briefing from the NYS Thruway Authority Command Center in Cheektowaga on Sunday.

Hochul said conditions are expected to improve by the time the game is scheduled to kick off on Monday: “Weather conditions will be very cold, they’ll be in the teens, and wind chill factors as low as zero, maybe to 9 degrees, but that’s going to be very, very cold. But this will be without the danger of the winds and the blinding snow and the hazardous traffic conditions.

“That is a far better dynamic that what we’ve had [Sunday],” Hochul added. “I’m not saying it’s going to be pleasant, but conditions won’t be life-threatening either,” she said.

“The game will not be pushed back again. I’ve spoken to the Commissioner of the NFL several times today, I’ve spoken to the owner of the Buffalo Bills, again about their preparations,” Hochul said.

Travel bans will be lifted at 3:30 p.m. in the Northtowns, Hochul added, although a travel ban remains in effect for the city of Buffalo and Southtowns, including Orchard Park, due to dangerous ongoing winter storm conditions.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said at the briefing: “The game will be held.” He said crews would be out cleaning the roads and parking lots around the stadium. He asked fans to consider carpooling to the game.

Late on Sunday, the Bills sent out a request on their website and social media for additional snow shovelers to assist the team with removing snow from Highmark Stadium overnight. Volunteers would be paid $20 an hour for helping overnight and into Monday morning, while also being provided breakfast and drinks.

On the field, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season has been difficult to make sense of.

Although it ended with a record of 10-7 and a spot in the postseason, Pittsburgh cycled through a series of quarterbacks following up-and-down play, with Mason Rudolph – who began the year as the team’s third-string quarterback – finishing the season and providing an offensive jolt to spark a three-game winning run to end the campaign.

Not only did the Steelers clinch head coach Mike Tomlin’s record 17th straight non-losing season, but they also ensured they were the third AFC North team to reach the playoffs, although the team’s defensive stalwart TJ Watt has been ruled out of Sunday’s game through injury.