There were multiple reasons to not play a wild-card game at the Rams’ SoFi Stadium on Monday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Rams are headed to Arizona, courtesy of a division rival.
The Arizona Cardinals, who will be hosting Monday’s wild-card game between the Rams and Minnesota Vikings due to the wildfires currently devastating Los Angeles, are allowing the Rams to use two of their jets to transport their team, staff and families, according to The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue.
Also in the traveling party: six dogs and two cats.
The Cardinals will reportedly fly 350 people to Arizona on Friday with 100 more, including gameday entertainment staff and crews, arriving Sunday. The game is currently scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
The Rams have also reportedly secured 15 buses to transport 750 of their fans to Arizona, while coordinating with Kelly Stafford, the wife of starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is securing more. Tickets for the relocated game went on sale Friday with an exclusive two-hour window for Rams and Cardinals season-ticket holders. Rams fans reportedly purchased 25,000 tickets.
The NFL made the decision to move the game on Thursday, while multiple wildfires were still raging around Los Angeles. The Rams’ SoFi Stadium isn’t close to any of the fires, but the combination of low air quality and strain on local resources led to the league making its decision.
The Rams were already underdogs against the Vikings, who went 14-3 during the regular season but fell short of the division title and the NFC’s No. 1 seed with a Sunday night loss to the Detroit Lions. Los Angeles could have faced the Washington Commanders instead, but opted to sit several offensive starters against the Seattle Seahawks last weekend. The resulting loss pushed them down to the less enviable No. 4 seed.