NFL Thursday Night Football takes place tonight with a big game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals. The game has a scheduled start time of 8.25 p.m. ET and takes place from the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona. The game can be watched on TV on the NFL Network or online through live stream via the link below.
The Cardinals will look to cement their credentials as real Super Bowl contenders this season with another win here today. Last week they demolished the St Louis Rams, shutting the Rams' offense down almost completely in a 27-3 win.
That victory moves them to 10-2, although they will face a much stiffer challenge against the Vikings today.
Minnesota meanwhile will be hoping to bounce back from a big loss last week to the Seattle Seahawks. The manner of the 38-7 defeat was brutal and exposed a number of areas that the Vikings must work on if they are to fulfill their potential this season.
That loss dropped the Vikings down to 8-4, and they will want to get right back into the winning habit immediately with a morale boosting victory today against a very strong Cardinals team.
The Vikings have slipped to second in the NFC North, although their record is tied with the Green Bay Packers on 8-4. A loss here today would give the Packers the opportunity to take sole possession of the top spot, and with the weeks running out until the end of the regular season this is not a time that the Vikings will want to fall behind.
The Packers have a tough game against the Dallas Cowboys at the weekend, but that will be a game that most pundits expect Green Bay to win. So that puts pressure on the Vikings today to get a result and throw the gauntlet down to the Packers.
Arizona have no such problems in the NFC West, and they are way out in front at the top of the division. The Seattle Seahawks are the only team with any chance of catching them for the division title but even that is highly unlikely given that Seattle are way back on 7-5.
A win here today would all but confirm the Cardinals as the division winners and would almost allow Arizona to start preparing for the Playoffs with weeks of the regular season remaining.
If Arizona win today and the Seahawks lose at the weekend then the Cardinals will be guaranteed a Playoff spot and would take the division title.
Coach Bruce Arians has said, "We're still looking to improve. I've got to find reasons to holler at them. There is time to look back on the journey and enjoy it but this isn't it."
The Vikings will have some kind of reaction today to their poor performance last week. Adrian Peterson is leading the league for rushing with 1,182 yards, but he was not happy after last week, putting on only 18 yards in eight carries, which works out as the third lowest total yardage of his career. Expect Peterson and the Vikings to come out with something to prove today.
Tonight's big NFL Thursday Night Football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals has a scheduled start time of 8.25 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on the NFL Network or online through live stream by clicking here.
