How many NFL playoff games have been moved? The history of a rare phenomenon

The entire nation has their thoughts and prayers for the city of Los Angeles as a series of fires ravaged the city, destroying homes and lives in the process. The wildfires and those affected by them were front and center during Wild Card weekend in the 2025 NFL postseason. No game was more affected than Minnesota Vikings vs. Los Angeles Rams game moved from Los Angeles, California to Glendale, Arizona. However, this wasn’t the first time an NFL playoff game was moved, so in this article we’ll take a look at both times the home venue was changed for an NFL playoff game.

2025: Minnesota Vikings @ Los Angeles Rams, Wild Card Weekend

During the 2024-25 season, the Vikings were one of the best teams in the league. They had a shot at the one seed in the NFC if they had won their Week 18 matchup against the Detroit Lions, but a loss there meant they were stuck as a Wild Card team (five seed). The loss showed some red flags that didn’t prevail for the rest of the season, but more importantly, it meant they wouldn’t play at home in the first-round matchup against the Rams.

The Rams were given home field advantage by winning the NFC West, but that privilege was taken away by the Los Angeles fire. so far, at least 24 are dead because of the tragedy, and more than 12,000 houses and buildings were destroyed.

Obviously, the city of Los Angeles had more pressing matters than the football game, so the NFL moved the Wild Card game to the home of the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Arizona, while Los Angeles focused on public safety.

Losing home field advantage was a big loss for the Rams, and the crowd ended up being a 50/50 split between Rams fans and Vikings fans. The Rams even went so far as to use the visitors’ locker room because that’s what they’re used to. While you might expect the team to lose focus with something much bigger than football going on, the Rams did the opposite, and instead seemingly came together to represent the city of Los Angeles.

They dominated the Vikings to a 27-9 victory despite being the underdogs. Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes, Joshua Carty added two field goals and Jared Vers took the ball and went the distance. It was a win that showed the Rams and Los Angeles as a whole are here to stay. Next up for the Rams is a road game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

1936: Green Bay Packers @ Boston Redskins, NFL Championship Game

Long before the Rams vs. Vikings game was rescheduled, the Green Bay Packers vs. Boston Redskins game was rescheduled, and there were long-term implications because of that. The Green Bay Packers led the NFL in the ’30s, and their 10-1 record in 1936 illustrated that.

The 1936 season was only the fourth in which there was a championship game, but, as before, the team with the best league record was declared the champion. The opponent of the Packers NFL Championship Game was the Redskins, who were playing in Boston at the time. The Redskins had home field advantage, meaning the game was to be played at Fenway Park.

Instead, Redskins owner George Preston Marshall decided to move the game to the Polo Grounds in New York, New York because the team lacked fan support in Boston. The Packers, who had three previous championships due to the league record, ended up winning 21-6.

The highlight of the game was Arnie Herber’s 46-yard pass to Don Hutson, two of the early pioneers of American football. Houston is probably one of the the most underrated NFL players eversince he revolutionized the receiver position, and he is one of the the best players in Packers history.

The move to the Polo Grounds resulted in Marshall moving the Redskins to his hometown of Washington DC the following season, and the team would be known as the Washington Redskins from 1937 to 2019; when they changed their name to Commanders.