Who do the Rams play next if they beat the Vikings? Playoff bracket and matchups

Football might be the last thing on some Los Angeles Rams' players minds. The wildfires have wreaked havoc all over the West Coast and the Greater Los Angeles Area. It has resulted in the Rams' home playoff game having to be moved to Glendale, Arizona. Yes, the Rams will be playing a "home playoff game" in the home stadium of one of their NFC West division rivals in the Arizona Cardinals.

To make this even more challenging for Los Angeles, the No. 4 Rams will have to take on the favored No. 5 Minnesota Vikings in their NFC Wild Card matchup. Minnesota was one win away from earning the No. 1 seed. It all came down to the final game of the regular season with the Detroit Lions getting the victory, the NFC North crown, the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye into the NFC Playoffs this year.

So with this being the final postseason game of what has been another installment of Super Wild Card Weekend, all but one divisional round matchup has been set. The AFC is all decided. We know the top-seeded Lions will host the Washington Commanders in the other NFC game. That means the winner of the Rams vs. Vikings playoff game will have to travel to face the No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles won the regular-season matchup over the Rams back in November by the score of 37-20.

Who do Los Angeles Rams face in playoffs if they beat Minnesota Vikings?

Although the Eagles did get the best of the Rams in their regular-season matchup, we have seen Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni come up short in postseason games before. While the Eagles may have the upper hand in most areas of their team, I still like Sean McVay more than I do Sirianni. It is why if the Rams were to get past the Vikings, I would not rule out Los Angeles beating Philadelphia.

Defeating the same team twice is so hard in football. Before we even get to that possibility with the Rams going to the Eagles, they have to take care of business vs. Minnesota first. While this game is technically a home date for the Rams, it really is not. However, there are a few things that do serve the Rams here. One, Kevin O'Connell is a McVay disciple. And two, Matthew Stafford is not Sam Darnold.

While the Darnold/O'Connell connection has helped the Vikings get to new heights this season, this is still Darnold's first career playoff start. Although Stafford has been up and down in the postseason throughout his NFL career, he did lead the Rams to a Super Bowl. That should matter when it comes to crunch time. If it is close, then I trust Stafford to make the play that I am not so sure Darnold could.

Whoever wins the game in Greater Phoenix will need to pack for a cold one in Philadelphia next week.