Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford didn’t have to think hard to explain Monday’s Wild Card upset of the Minnesota Vikings in Glendale, Arizona.
Displaced by the Palisades Fire and the lingering smoke that has led to dangerous air quality levels in LA, the Rams were playing for a grieving city that is still digging itself out from the rubble.
‘Unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my tenure playing in the NFL,’ Stafford told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt. ‘We just know what’s going on back home. [We] felt really motivated to play for the people of this city. It’s been a hell of a week. We’re happy to come out with a win.
‘It’s honestly hard to wrap my head around the devastation,’ he continued. ‘I’m a lot like a lot of people around the country, watching the news and seeing these homes reduced to rubble, firefighters doing everything they possibly can to try and fight it back.
‘Living in those conditions, knowing what that wind felt like, it was unbelievable. I’m proud of the community, proud of the city for the response and hopefully they’re proud of us for the way we played tonight.’
More than 90,000 people remained displaced Monday, seven days after multiple wind-driven blazes erupted. At least 24 people have been killed and thousands left without homes, and authorities warned that winds forecast to intensify again on Tuesday could lead to ‘extreme fire behavior and life-threatening conditions.’
Matthew Stafford of the LA Rams looks on after the game against the Minnesota Vikings
The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds along LA’s Pacific coastline
Those who could make it to the game at the Arizona Cardinals’ stadium a six-hour drive east of LA were rewarded to an impressive upset of a 14-3 Vikings team that, until recently, looked like a Super Bowl contender.
Asked if the surging Rams can help to bring the city together at a difficult time, Stafford said he sees it as an opportunity.
‘You never want a tragedy to make you come together and do all that,’ Stafford said.
‘To be able to make it to the playoffs and get this opportunity to get here and play in front of an unbelievable crowd, bunch of blue that we appreciate big time for the a week we’re going through and they showed up for us and made it loud.’
Stafford put a finer point on things during his post-game press conference.
‘There was definitely every excuse in the book to come out here and be lethargic and woe is me and all that, but we knew we weren’t playing just for us,’ Stafford said. ‘Playing for people back home that needed something to watch and enjoy and I’m glad we could give that to them.’
Stafford also played Monday with two of his four children in the hospital. It’s unclear if the situation is related to the LA fires or air quality in the city, but wife Kelly has posted a few updates on social media.
Earlier this week, Kelly had suggested that she and her daughters could move out of their family home in order to protect her husband from the disease with the playoffs looming.
‘I can’t think straight, I currently believe I have the flu,’ she said on the January 7 episode of her Morning After podcast. ‘Two of my daughters have the flu.’
The quarterback’s wife, Kelly, shared a phot of two of their daughters in a hospital bed
Matthew Stafford’s daughters were hospitalized after making the trip to Arizona this weekend
She also revealed that she felt she couldn’t move while attending the Rams game against the Seattle Seahawks last weekend.
‘I passed out on a little bench in the suite,’ she explained. ‘We had all of our friends in town and I was a real downer. Body aches are serious.’
‘If all my kids have the flu, I don’t think we should be in this house with him,’ she added, speaking about the signal caller.
Stafford threw two touchdown passes and the Rams (11-7) looked comfortable from the first snap. LA drove for a touchdown on the opening drive and built a 10-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
‘I thought they epitomized and represented the city the right way,’ Rams coach Sean McVay said. ‘You talk about sports offering a platform for people to come together and offer a little temporary relief – I thought the way our team competed tonight was what that looked like.’
The game was moved to the Phoenix suburbs , nearly 400 miles east of the Rams’ home in Inglewood, California, in part because public safety resources were needed to address the wildfires. LA’s next game will be on the East Coast against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.