The Kansas City Chiefs can eliminate the rival Denver Broncos from playoff contention by beating them in Sunday’s Week 18 game, but only after an unexpectedly extended stay in Missouri. Just ahead of a scheduled takeoff Saturday, the Chiefs’ team plane was stranded at Kansas City International Airport (MCI) due to “rapid ice accumulation” on the airfield, as CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson reported.
The airport closure lasted only about two hours, but it came amid warnings of a major winter storm in the Kansas City area, with the National Weather Service forecasting blizzard conditions starting Saturday afternoon and lasting into Monday. Officials had indicated that travel may be “impossible” once heavy snow begins to fall Sunday afternoon, with wind gusts also estimated to reach 35-40 miles per hour, as KMBC reported.
The Chiefs were originally scheduled to land in Denver at about 3 p.m. local time Saturday, per Wolfson. Their delayed travel isn’t expected to impact Sunday’s scheduled game.