NFL delays kickoff of Titans-Texans in Tennessee due to winter storm

The NFL delayed the start of tonight’s game between the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans on Saturday in Nashville due to a power outage in the state due to the massive winter storm that has battered most of the United States.

The game that was supposed to start at 1:00 PM ET is now scheduled to start at 2:02 PM ET. The league said Nashville Mayor John Cooper requested a delay in solidarity with other local workers who have been asked to shut off power.

Tennessee has seen statewide power outages due to the deadly storm, which has caused more than 1,800 flight cancellations and 3,300 flight delays statewide today, according to FlightAware. According to Poweroutage.us, an estimated 1.7 million people in the US are without power.

The temperature at kickoff in Nashville is expected to be 18 degrees.

“Due to the extreme weather and power outages in our area, kickoff for tonight’s game has been pushed back one hour to 1:00 p.m. CT,” the Titans said in a statement. “This decision was made in cooperation with the NFL, the Office of Emergency Management, the Nashville Electric Service and the Mayor’s Office to ensure that the game does not negatively impact our community in any way. We are exploring every option to minimize non-essential energy around the stadium. The gates are currently open and supporters are welcome to enter.”

The NFL has 11 games scheduled for Saturday before three games on Christmas Day — all in cities (Miami, Los Angeles and Glendale, AZ) that have escaped the dangerously cold winter conditions of the American Midwest and East.

The night before in Nashville, the NHL’s Predators Avalanche game at Bridgestone Arena was powered entirely by generators after the Ottawa and Buffalo games were completely postponed. The Titans’ Nissan Stadium also has a generator.