The Los Angeles Rams are headed to Arizona, courtesy of a division rival.
The Arizona Cardinals, who will host Monday’s wild-card game between the Rams and Minnesota Vikings due to the wildfires currently ravaging Los Angeles, will allow the Rams to use two of their jets to transport their team, staff and families, according to The Jourdan Rodrigue of Athletic.
Also in the traveling party: six dogs and two cats.
The Cardinals will reportedly fly 350 people to Arizona on Friday with another 100 people, including gameday entertainment staff and crews, arriving on Sunday. The match is currently scheduled for Monday at 8:00 PM ET.
The Rams have also reportedly secured 15 buses to transport 750 of their fans to Arizona, while working with Kelly Stafford, the wife of starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, to arrange more. Tickets for the rescheduled game went on sale Friday with an exclusive two-hour window for Rams and Cardinals season ticket holders. Rams fans reportedly bought 25,000 tickets.
The NFL made the decision to move the game on Thursday as multiple wildfires continued to rage around Los Angeles. The Rams’ SoFi Stadium is not located near any of the fires, but the combination of low air quality and strain on local resources led the league to make a 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 play several offensive starters against the Seattle Seahawks last weekend. The resulting loss pushed them to the less enviable No. 4 seed.
