A few hours after the
L.A. Rams completed practice in Woodland Hills Thursday afternoon, the
NFL announced that “in the interest of public safety,” Monday’s
NFC wild-card game against the
Minnesota Vikings would be moved from
SoFi Stadium in Inglewood to
State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. “The decision was made in consultation with public officials, the participating clubs and the
NFLPA,” the league said in its statement.
During a press conference before the decision was announced, Rams coach
Sean McVay remarked, “This is bigger than the game of football. It gives you perspective.”
McVay then provided that perspective. “What sports represents,” he said, “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. And I am excited about the opportunity for our team to go compete, and people can be proud to have a team that represents a lot of things that are right about sports.”
Vikings coach
Kevin O’Connell and offensive coordinator
Wes Phillips contacted McVay this week after seeing devastating video of the fires. “More just friends checking up,” he said, “not necessarily worried about ‘how does that affect our game?’”
After practice, the Rams canceled media access to the locker room so players possibly affected by the Kenneth fire that broke out Thursday afternoon near Woodland Hills could leave, a team official told the
L.A. Times.
This weekend, football fans in SoCal will have the opportunity to experience the aforementioned “temporary sense of relief.”
The winner of tonight’s game (on
ESPN) between
Ohio State and
Texas at the
Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, will meet
Notre Dame in the
College Football Playoffs championship, which will take place Monday, 1/20, at
Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Irish defeated
Penn State 27-24 Thursday night at Miami's
Orange Bowl in an instant classic.
Six NFL wild-card playoff matchups will be played this weekend, starting with the
L.A. Chargers vs. the
Houston Texans in Houston at 1:30 PT on
CBS and
Paramount+.
Below is the complete schedule of football games this weekend.
