GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams made themselves at home on Monday night for their NFL wild-card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings — even if their adopted stadium featured an unusual amount of red and was nearly 400 miles east of their regular venue.
The NFC West champion Rams were the home team for the matchup with the Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium, home of the division rival Arizona Cardinals. The game was moved on Thursday, a few days after devastating wildfires broke out in the Los Angeles area.
Click to Gallery
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay talks with running back Kyren Williams (23) before an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) throws before an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Officials including side judge Eugene Hall; side judge Allen Baynes; back judge Tony Josselyn; referee John Hussey; down judge Dana McKenzie; back judge Matt Edwards and umpire Terry Killens pose before an NFL wild card playoff football game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, left, talks with Referee John Hussey before an NFL wild card playoff football game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp catches a pass before an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Los Angeles Rams fans hold a signs before an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
A Los Angeles Rams fan holds a sign b before an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
“When we made that decision, the league comes together,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in an interview on ESPN. “And we have preparations for what we call contingency plans, (which) includes two stadiums every week and this was a perfect fit as far as the location for the Los Angeles Rams fans.
“I’m proud to say 45,000 of them made the trip over here, which is just extraordinary to me.”
LA fans filled large swaths of the parking lot before the game, tailgating by the thousands. Both end zones were painted in the Rams' blue and yellow color scheme, and the team's logo was painted at midfield. As fans entered the stadium, they were given Rams towels.
A “Thank You Firefighters and First Responders” banner was prominent in one end zone and an “LA Together” banner was on display before the game.
Los Angeles fans had plenty of reasons to cheer in the first half as the Rams built a 24-3 lead.
Gilberto Aguilar — who lives in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County — said he’s a season ticket holder and planned to attend the game at SoFi Stadium before it was moved to Arizona. He said since his family and friends were safe, there was no question he was going to make the trip.
“I feel for everyone in the Los Angeles area near the wildfires,” Aguilar said. “I knew I had to come out and support my team and support all the first responders.”
State Farm Stadium — with a capacity of 63,400 — appeared nearly full at kickoff.
Former Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth addressed fans before the game, saying they would “rebuild LA hand in hand together.”
“There’s a feeling amongst the team — this is for LA,” Rams running back Kyren Williams said Saturday. “This is for hope back at home that they can cling onto, that the Rams are going to be the people who can take them away from whatever they’re going through for a few hours.”
Game relocations are rare in the NFL, but not unprecedented. Arizona has been a popular location for the last-minute moves.
In 2003, the league moved a Monday night regular-season game between the Chargers and Dolphins from San Diego to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, to avoid wildfires in Southern California. In 2020, the San Francisco 49ers spent about a month in Arizona because of COVID-19 restrictions at home in Santa Clara County.
AP freelancer Bob Huhn contributed to this report.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay talks with running back Kyren Williams (23) before an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) throws before an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Officials including side judge Eugene Hall; side judge Allen Baynes; back judge Tony Josselyn; referee John Hussey; down judge Dana McKenzie; back judge Matt Edwards and umpire Terry Killens pose before an NFL wild card playoff football game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, left, talks with Referee John Hussey before an NFL wild card playoff football game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp catches a pass before an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Los Angeles Rams fans hold a signs before an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
A Los Angeles Rams fan holds a sign b before an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.
Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.
Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran cross checking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
The Latest:
Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators to the streets Monday in a show of power after nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.
Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square in the capital.
It called the demonstration an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. That sparked the protests over two weeks ago.
State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests, as claimed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier in the day.
China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”
He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”
Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”
He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.
Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.
“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.
However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”
The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.
The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.
Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.
“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.
Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.
Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.
A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.
Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.
The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.
Shiite Muslims hold placards and chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and show solidarity with Iran in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Activists carrying a photograph of Reza Pahlavi take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Activists take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
