This week is just a little bit different for Minnesota Vikings fans, as it’s our annual week to play on Thursday night when the purple host the Pittsburgh Steelers for Thursday Night Football. We’re going to make sure that everyone can follow along with all of tonight’s action, so we’ve got everything you need to know here in one place.
Television Info
This game is going to be starting in prime time, with kickoff slated for 7:20 PM Central time on Thursday night. The broadcast for this one is going to be on the NFL Network, but if you’re in the Twin Cities area you can get it on KMSP-9, the local FOX affiliate. The play-by-play will be handled by. . .sigh. . .Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, and you don’t need a map because it’s literally the only game in town.
For our men and women in uniform serving overseas, the American Forces Network will, in fact, be showing this one LIVE. . .because, honestly, what choice do they have? Coverage of this one will begin at 0100Z on Friday morning. That translates to a start time of 0200L on Friday morning for everyone in Central Europe, 0400L on Friday morning for those on Arabian Standard Time, and 1000L on Friday morning for fans in Japan and Korea. If you’re at Osan or Yokota or something, tell your supervisor I said it was okay to take an early lunch.
Radio Info
Once again, the Vikings Radio Network and all of its affiliates will be bringing you live broadcasts of every Vikings game for 2021. If you’re traveling around an area where there’s an affiliate or you just prefer the radio to the television, check out their site and find the affiliate in your area.
If you’re going to be using satellite radio, you can get this week’s game from either Sirius Channel 83 or XM Channel 225. There will also be a national broadcast from Westwood One that will be aired on Sirius XM NFL Radio, Channel 88. Those channels will bring you the Vikings Radio Network feed. If you’re using the Sirius XM app, the Vikings’ permanent home there is on Channel 820.
Referee Info
Football Zebras is kind enough to inform us that the officiating crew for tonight’s contest will be led by Clete Blakeman. This will be the second trip to U.S. Bank Stadium this season for Blakeman and his crew, as they handled the Vikings’ 19-17 victory over the Detroit Lions back in Week 5.
Weather Info
Obviously, with the game being at U.S. Bank Stadium, this game won’t be affected by the weather or anything like that. However, if you’re planning on traveling to the stadium. . .well, our friends at WeatherNation think that you should probably bundle up. The temperature in the Twin Cities area isn’t forecast to break 40 degrees all day on Thursday, and by the time it’s time for everyone to leave the stadium and go home the mercury will be back below freezing again.
Betting Info
According to our friends at the DraftKings Sportsbook, the Vikings are still a 3-point favorite in this one. The over/under for this one is currently sitting at 43.5 points. You can use the link there to track any potential changes all the way up to kickoff.
Streaming Info
In addition to being on the NFL Network and FOX in the local markets, this game is also available to stream for free if you have Amazon Prime. (Seriously. . .don’t people just get issued Amazon Prime at this point?) You can also get the game on NFL GamePass, or by checking out a service such as Fubo TV.
As far as illegal streaming, I won’t belabor the point like I usually do. Don’t promote illegal streams here or you’ll be banned. Do not pass “Go,” do not collect $200.
Watch-Along Info
As we mentioned yesterday, Vikings Report with Drew and Ted will be doing a live watch-along during Thursday night’s game. The stream will go live at around 6:45 PM Central, and will be embedded into all of our quarterly Open Threads, or you can view it on the Vikings Report with Drew and Ted YouTube Channel, where you can interact with the show through chat.
Post-Game Info
Once the game is over with, our friends from Climbing the Pocket will have a live post-game show for your viewing pleasure as well. The Climbing the Pocket show will be on their YouTube channel (linked above) as well as the Daily Norseman FaceBook page.
That should be just about everything you need to know for tonight’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and your Minnesota Vikings from U.S. Bank Stadium on Thursday Night Football. As usual, we will have Open Threads for each quarter of the game, with the first one dropping approximately an hour before kickoff.
Loading comments...