GLENDALE, Ariz. — It’s fitting that Monday’s night NFC wild card game transpired like a Hollywood movie script.
Deadly wildfires that scorched the Los Angeles area forced the NFL to relocate a playoff game for the second time in league history. Head coach Sean McVay and wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp were among the coaches and players who evacuated their residents. A Los Angeles Rams official told USA TODAY Sports that roughly 30 members of the organization (coaches, players and staff members) evacuated their homes due to the fires.
The Rams had an understandable reason to be distracted versus the Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium on Monday night. But they channeled the devastation from the wildfires into motivation as they routed the Vikings 27-9 to advance to Sunday’s NFC divisional round versus the Philadelphia Eagles.
‘There was definitely every excuse in the book to come out here and be lethargic,’ Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said. ‘But we knew we weren’t playing just for us. (We were) playing for people back home that needed something to, you know, watch and enjoy. And I’m glad we could give that to them.’
Stafford completed his first 10 passes and helped the Rams race out to a 10-0 lead. It was an advantage the Rams would never relinquish.
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The Rams dominated the first half and built a 24-3 halftime lead. They connected on a field goal to get the second-half scoring under way, which by that point the contest had already been decided.
The Rams defense sacked Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold nine times – tying an NFL playoff record and they forced two turnovers in what was a commanding win in all three phases.
‘They represented the city the right way. You talk about sports offering a platform for people coming together and offering a little bit of temporary relief. I thought the way our team competed tonight was what it looked like,’ McVay said. ‘To stay connected (and) to stay together. Just the fight, the spirit (and) the resilience. All the different things that are great traits that this team has really built through the challenges that they’ve gone through over the course of this season.’
The biggest challenge of the Rams’ season off the field are the wildfires that have killed at least 24 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in the Los Angeles area.
The NFL moved Monday’s playoff game from SoFi Stadium to State Farm Stadium due to the deadly wildfires.
The Arizona Cardinals were gracious host. The organization sent two team planes to Los Angeles to pick up the Rams and their family members, opened their Tempe, Arizona-based practice facility for the Rams to use and organized State Farm Stadium to replicate a Rams home game.
The Rams provided fans with more than 15 buses and roundtrip transportation to Inglewood to Glendale for the wild card game. State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale had a Los Angeles atmosphere.
Many Rams players hoped the game could be a diversion for spectators at the venue and watching back in Southern California. And the Rams made sure the playoff game had a Hollywood-movie type ending.
‘I just hope that they were able to, you know, escape whatever was going on. I hope that the feeling of devastation was lifted through our play, and allowed them to be able to forget kind of what was going on back at home, and to give them hope. We went out there to play our hearts out for the city of L.A.,’ Rams running back Kyren Williams said. ‘Like I said it wasn’t just for this team, but it was more for the city. I hope that, you know, they were able to escape and forget kind of what was going on and continue to, you know, lean on us as we go through this thing.’
Rams safety Quentin Lake echoed similar sentiments.
‘I think for us to come out and play the way we did, to see the fans, to see the support that we got in the midst of what’s going on in L.A., was huge,’ Lake told USA TODAY Sports. ‘I think it gives them hope and joy.’