NFL Playoff game kicks off in Arizona under shadow of California wildfires

The final showdown of the NFL’s wildcard weekend takes place Monday, Jan. 13, in Arizona as the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings battle to see who will advance to the divisional round. The wildfires in and around Los Angeles are not far from the thoughts of players, coaches and their families.

The game was moved to Arizona on Thursday, Jan. 9, because of the continuing threat of the wildfires in California and potential air quality issues.

To make it feel like a Rams home game, the division rival Cardinals repainted the field at State Farm Stadium. They sent two Boeing 777 charter airliners to pick up the Rams players, coaches, staff and even their families — around 350 people.

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“That gave us a little bit of a peace of mind, it was definitely stressful, the timing and trying to pack everything up but ultimately we were able to get to the plane and were able to make it out here and now we’re able to let them stay at the hotel come here, get our work in and have a clear mind so,” Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner said.

On the Minnesota Vikings’ side, the vibe hasn’t changed much. They’re still preparing for a road playoff game, but they are dealing with the disappointment of falling flat in the regular season finale in Detroit. A win in that game would have given them the top seed in the NFC and a week of rest before the divisional round.

That said, the Vikings coaching staff’s message is to push those doubts aside and bounce back.

“When you have a performance where we put a lot into last Sunday night and as a head coach, you challenge your team to acknowledge it, understand it,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said. “But then we’re moving forward knowing all the things we’ve been able to accomplish this year, we’re going to need bits and pieces of every single one of them.”

Despite the distractions on both sides, expect the teams to focus on the task at hand. The Rams see it as just part of the overall journey.

“This is a unique situation but I think all the things that we’ve been through this year, this group is built for this,” head coach Sean McVay said.

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The Vikings are slight 2.5-point favorites in this matchup. The winner will face the Philadelphia Eagles in the next round.