Rams to face Cowboys in season opener, 1st event at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- The Los Angeles Rams are gearing up to face the Dallas Cowboys Sunday in their season opener and first event at the newly built SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The game is set to begin at 5:20 p.m. but there is a possibility it will be postponed as the team and the NFL monitor the air quality levels caused by wildfires.

On Saturday, the air quality index in Inglewood was 148, way below the levels that the NFL considers "hazardous." According to the league's game operation manual, anything above 200 is considered very unhealthy and could cause the game to be delayed.

However, on Friday, Ram's chief operating officer Kevin Demoff said they expected the game would be played as scheduled.

The Rams are trying to rebound from their first non-playoff season under Sean McVay, their coach since 2017. The Rams were 9-7 in 2019, losing seven of their final 13 games after a 3-0 start.

The team has been working hard in the off-season, preparing for redemption after last season's brutal blowout against the Cowboys, but McVay says they are focused on moving forward.

"Every year is a near year. I think this is a great football team coming in, we expect to start off the season the right way," McVay said. "We want to be able to do that but we know that Dallas is a great opponent. What happened against them the previous year doesn't really have any effect on how we operate moving forward."

The game, like all others at SoFi Stadium until further notice, will be played without fans due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The only occupants of the seats will be cardboard cutouts purchased by fans who want their faces to be in the stands.

SoFi Stadium will be the site of Super Bowl LVI in 2022, the College Football Playoff title game in 2023 and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympics.

City News Service contributed to this report.