Wildfires have devastated parts of Los Angeles in the week leading up to the NFL’s Wild Card weekend, forcing the Los Angeles Rams to work on a contingency plan.
The Los Angeles Rams won't have a typical home atmosphere for their wild card playoff game.
With the fifth-seeded Minnesota Vikings the away team, they won't be headed for California. Instead, it'll be State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, after the NFL announced Thursday the game will be relocated due to raging wildfires in Los Angeles.
SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., was the original venue for the game, but the surrounding areas have been severely impacted by intense wildfires for multiple days that have impacted hundreds of thousands of residents along with thousands of acres and structures being destroyed.
The game will still kick off at its originally scheduled time of 8 p.m. ET on Monday, but it raises the question: Has an NFL playoff game ever been relocated? Here's what to know:
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Has an NFL playoff game ever been relocated?
Prior to the Rams-Vikings game being shifted to Arizona, no NFL playoff game had ever been relocated.
Previous incidents saw games either delayed or postponed to a different day. The Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers in 2017 saw their affair get delayed seven hours due to harsh snow.
Most recently in 2024, the Buffalo Bills-Steelers game was moved from Sunday to Monday due to lake-effect snow in Buffalo.
Why is the Rams-Vikings game being relocated?
The Rams-Vikings game is being relocated due to the several raging wildfires in the surrounding areas of Inglewood, Calif., where SoFi Stadium is situated.
Where is the Rams-Vikings game being relocated to?
Rams-Vikings will instead face off in Arizona at State Farm Stadium, home of the Cardinals.
When is the Rams-Vikings game?
The Rams-Vikings game is slated for Monday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. ET.
