The Los Angeles Rams paid tribute to the city's firefighters and first responders as they beat the Minnesota Vikings to clinch the final spot in Week 2 of the NFL playoffs.
The Rams had home-field advantage in the final game of Wildcard Weekend, but Monday's game had to be moved to State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, because of wildfires around Los Angeles that killed 24 people.
However, it still felt like a home game as the Rams cruised to a 27-9 win over a Vikings team that failed to rebound after being denied the top seed in the NFC conference last week.
The Rams sold more than 52,000 tickets to the 63,000-seat stadium in Phoenix, which is a six-hour, 375-mile drive from SoFi Stadium.
The Rams' contingent of more than 400 people — including players, family, coaches, staff and even pets — traveled Friday and the team used the Cardinals' practice facility.
After clinching the NFC West title, the Rams were able to rest their key players on the final day of the regular season while the Vikings suffered a frustrating loss at the Detroit Lions.
It showed when the Rams took a 24-3 lead into halftime, with Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold sacked six times and giving up two turnovers.
“We knew what we were playing for,” Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “It was for the people of Los Angeles who are struggling right now.
“We live this every day. It's been a tough week for us, a bunch of moving parts. It's been a whirlwind, but to come out here and play like we did, in all phases, I'm really proud of that.” group.”
