The final game of Wild Card Weekend is set for tonight with the No. 5 Minnesota Vikings taking on the No. 4 Los Angeles Rams at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. The winner of this game will take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round next weekend.
Despite finishing the season 14-3, the Vikings lost to the Detroit Lions in the final game of the season and missed out on the opportunity for the top seed in the NFC, landing at No. 5 and subsequently starting their playoff quest on the road. That loss snapped a nine-game winning streak for Sam Darnold and the Vikings and meant that even with their 14 wins on the season, they’d miss out on a division title.
READ MORE: The divisional round schedule is set, and here it is
Meanwhile Sean McVay’s 10-7 Los Angeles Rams won the NFC West for the first time since the 2021 season, when they went on to win Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Rams can also bring confidence into this matchup as one of only two teams to beat the Vikings in the regular season: they won 30-20 in Week 8, while Detroit beat Minnesota twice (in Week 7 as well as in the Week 18 season finale).
Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell is also part of the McVay coaching tree: O’Connell was the offensive coordinator for the Rams in 2020 and 2021, which included that run to a Lombardi Trophy in the 2021 season. He left to take the top job in Minnesota in 2022, and this will be the first time O’Connell and McVay have met as head coaches in the postseason.
For a full rundown of tonight’s schedule, as well as a recap of the Wild Card action thus far, see below.
2024-25 NFL Playoff Bracket: Schedule, matchups and scores for AFC and NFC games
What NFL game is on tonight?
No. 5 Minnesota Vikings vs No. 4 Los Angeles Rams
- Location: State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
- Time: 8pm ET
- TV Channel: ABC and ESPN
Where is the Vikings-Rams Wild Card game being played?
The Vikings and Rams Wild Card game was initially scheduled for Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, but with ongoing wildfires in the Los Angeles area, the NFL on Thursday announced the decision to relocate the matchup to Arizona, at the same start time.
“The decision was made in consultation with public officials, the participating clubs and the NFLPA,” the league said in a statement.
Rams head coach Sean McVay was among those in Los Angeles who had to evacuate due to the wildfires.
“Here’s what it’s like,” McVay told reporters on Friday. “As soon as I knew that my wife and little boy were good — you don’t ever want that to happen, but if it did, those things can be replaced. Fortunately, they got those things under control, but as soon as I got off the practice field and because of where they were, I saw them right away. That was all I needed. It felt a lot more real — I don’t want to say that because you don’t want to minimize how important and how many people were affected, but when you can start to see it physically as the smoke rose up yesterday, there was a lot of guys that live in proximity and that hits home in a different way. As soon as I knew Veronica and Jordan were good, I was good as well.”
Read More: Rams, Cardinals, NFL trying to make it feel like a Rams home game in Arizona
Wild Card Weekend Results, Scores
No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers 12, No. 4 Houston Texans 32
No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers 14, No 3. Baltimore Ravens 28
No. 7 Denver Broncos 7, No. 2 Buffalo Bills 31
No. 7 Green Bay Packers 10, No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles 22
No. 6 Washington Commanders 23, No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20
