The Los Angeles Rams will play a home game 380 miles away from home to kick off a playoff run on Jan. 13, but emotions will be close to home in a burning city.
The NFL officially moved the Rams (10 Wild Card game against the Minnesota Vikings (14–3) on Thursday because of ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford told reporters how the game takes on a new purpose amid the disaster.
It’s tough times that the players and coaches are living through, too. Stafford mentioned losing power “for a couple days” and that “it’s a tough thing” seeing the effects of the fires wherever he goes plus seeing updates on the news. The fires have destroyed homes and businesses, taken lives, and have caused dangerous air quality throughout the metro area.
“A bunch of people [are] doing everything they possibly can to try to get things under control and get people back to normal as quickly as possible,” Stafford said. “I’m thinking about and feeling for a bunch of people that have been affected all across the city.”
Stafford acknowledged the value of playing at home at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, but recognized the issues at hand. The NFL has moved regular season games before due to extreme weather or disasters, but playoff games have gone on or have been moved to a different date. That happened last season when the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills got moved back a day because of a heavy snowstorm.
“The one thing about this job and playing this sport is you get used to just controlling the things that you can. When you can’t control those things, you adjust,” Stafford said.
Minnesota will need adjustments from the last meeting with the Rams in the regular season, a 30–20 loss at SoFi on Oct. 24. Stafford had his way throwing the ball amid 279 yards and four touchdowns on 25–34 passing.
Rams head coach Sean McVay acknowledged that this Wild Card matchup “is its own separate entity” versus a chance to duplicate efforts from Week 8. Similar to Stafford, McVay emphasized the importance of giving a reprieve for the people of Los Angeles on Jan. 13.
“You talk about really what sports represents is an opportunity for people to come together and provide a temporary sense of relief from some of the things that they’re going through,” McVay said. “I am excited about the opportunity for our team to go compete where people can be proud and have a team that represents a lot of the things that are right about sports. I know we’re going to prepare to the best of our ability to do that.”
