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Has an NFL playoff game ever been relocated or postponed? The reason behind moving the Rams - Vikings matchup

The final game of the NFL’s Wild Card Weekend has been relocated, so there will be no true home-field advantage for the Rams as they take on the Vikings.

El Vikings - Rams se jugará en Arizona por incendios en Los Ángeles
CHRISTIAN PETERSENAFP

The NFL Wild Card Weekend wraps up tonight with the NFC’s No. 4 Los Angeles Rams facing off against the No. 5 Minnesota Vikings. As the higher seed, the Rams were given home-field advantage and the game was to be played at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

As fate would have it, Mother Nature had other plans. Due to the deadly wildfires spreading across the Los Angeles area, the NFL has moved the Monday Night Wild Card game to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, siting safety concerns.

Hundreds of thousands of people have had to evacuate the Los Angeles area as several wildfires have destroyed everything in their path, including many people’s homes. Not only that, but the poor air quality and damage throughout the city make it a dangerous environment to be in at the moment.

“In the interest of public safety, Monday’s Vikings-Rams Wild Card game has been moved from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA to State Farm Stadium, the home of the Arizona Cardinals, the NFL announced today,” the NFL said in a statement. “The decision was made in consultation with public officials, the participating clubs and the NFLPA.”

Rams head coach Sean McVay said that some of the team’s personnel have been directly affected by the disaster. The team will now have to gather themselves to prepare for the playoffs despite this tragedy.

Has the NFL relocated a playoff game before?

The NFL is certainly not the only sports league dealing with the fallout from the wildfires in Los Angeles. As the city deals with this catastrophe, both the NBA and NHL have been forced to postpone games. Los Angeles Lakers coach J.J. Reddick was one of the many unfortunate L.A. residents to have lost his home in the wildfires.

The NFL is no stranger to relocating and even postponing games due to natural disasters, as it has experienced hurricanes, floods, snow storms, and other weather-related incidents throughout its history. It is rare, however, for the NFL to relocate a playoff game. In fact, the Vikings-Rams Wild Card relocation makes just the second time in NFL history (105 years) that a postseason game has been relocated.

The only other instance of the league moving a playoff game occurred in 1936, under much different circumstances. Before the Super Bowl was the Super Bowl, the NFL played its championship game on the home field of one of the two teams competing. In 1936, the Green Bay Packers and Boston Redskins (now Washington Commanders) were to play the NFL championship game at Boston’s Fenway Park. But ticket sales were down and Boston’s owner at the time, George Preston Marshall, decided to relocate the game to New York’s Polo Grounds. He moved the team to Washington D.C. the following year.

Tonight’s Wild Card game between the Vikings and Rams will kick off at 8 p.m. ET from State Farm Stadium. You can follow along with our live text coverage of the game, brought to you by AS USA’s own Dane Arlauckas.

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