What channel is the Minnesota Vikings game on today (10/24/24)? FREE LIVE STREAM, Time, TV, Channel for NFL Week 8 vs. Los Angeles Rams

The Minnesota Vikings, led by quarterback Sam Darnold, will face the Los Angeles Rams, led by quarterback Matthew Stafford, California, in Week 8 of the NFL season on Thursday, October 24, 2024 (10/24/24) at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

How to watch: Fans can watch the game for free through an Amazon Prime trial.

Here’s what you need to know:

What: NFL, Week 8

WHO: Vikings vs. Rams

When: Oct 24, 2024

Where: SoFi Stadium

Time: 8:15 p.m. ET (7:15 p.m. CT)

TV: FOX 11 (Los Angeles)

LIVE STREAM: Amazon Prime

Here’s a recent NFL story from the AP:

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Sean McVay has grown a healthy coaching staff during his eight seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. Five of his former assistants have become NFL head coaches, while several others have been headhunted for bigger jobs in college and the pros.

One of the largest branches of that tree rises in front of McVay for the first time Thursday night as Kevin O’Connell leads his Minnesota Vikings (5-1) into SoFi Stadium.

O’Connell won a Super Bowl ring as McVay’s offensive coordinator with the Rams (2-4). He also learned a lot about what he needed to be successful in Minnesota, where he built the Vikings into a winner while also putting USC product Sam Darnold in position to finally fulfill his NFL potential.

O’Connell realizes he is indebted to his agitated ex-boss on the other side of the pitch.

“He’s one of my closest friends in this league,” O’Connell said. “I have so much respect for him, the way he runs this organization, his leadership, his football intelligence. He’s as good as he can be. I have nothing but love for him and we will always be like this.”

O’Connell’s Vikings just suffered their first loss of the season against Detroit this past weekend, but still look like Super Bowl contenders. McVay’s Rams don’t seem to be able to come close to keeping up in their third season following their championship run, but they did get an encouraging win against Las Vegas.

“I’m not surprised,” McVay said of the Vikings’ success. “I think he’s done a great job in a variety of situations. … Kevin is a guy who has had a tremendous impact and influence here as a coach. I’m happy for these guys.”

McVay has always been vocal about his desire to see his assistant coaches advance their careers. His best assistants typically come from the Rams and have extensive knowledge of what it takes to manage the countless moving parts of an NFL team.

“Probably one of the things that made me feel so prepared for this job was his willingness to let me be a part of things that offensive coordinators in other places might not be involved in,” O’Connell said. “I saw a lot, learned a lot, asked a lot of questions – probably one too many for his taste.”

Kupp’s comeback

Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper Kupp is expected to return after a four-game absence due to an ankle injury, and the Rams desperately need his help. Their offense is struggling without top options Kupp and Puka Nacua for Matthew Stafford, whose 154 passing yards last week against Vegas were his fewest in his four-year tenure with the Rams.

Kupp has been the subject of trade rumors this week, and it wouldn’t be shocking if the decidedly unsentimental Rams front office moved a beloved player who has been a franchise mainstay since 2017. But Kupp will get at least one more game in front of his fans against the Vikings, whose pass defense ranks 30th in the NFL with 260.3 yards allowed per game.

Respect for the recipient

When O’Connell arrived in Minnesota, the first question he asked of Justin Jefferson was: “Why is Cooper Kupp so outspoken?”

Kupp’s success in the 2021 season was an integral part of the Rams’ title run, and one of the reasons the Vikings hired O’Connell was his playmaking and passing acumen in favor of Jefferson. O’Connell and Jefferson constantly talk about how to beat the double teams that Jefferson often encounters, but the first step after their introduction three years ago was a challenge for the precocious receiver.

“It was pretty much, ‘You have to learn the whole offense, you have to learn every single position, you have to get into this concept if you want to be one of the best receivers.’ “I want to be,” Jefferson said this week. “I’ve definitely been involved since that day. I wanted to be at the same level. I wanted to be wide open even when I was being doubled and tripled. It’s just all part of the system, all part of the process.”

Lights on Thursday evening

McVay has always done well in a short week: His Rams went 6-2 in Thursday night games in his first seven seasons – and one of those losses was a Week 1 shutout by Buffalo in 2022. His only loss in Thursday’s short break marked a one-point comeback win by Seattle in 2019.

Return home

Darnold will enjoy the familiar sights of home and the opportunity for friends and family to join him at SoFi, but the nostalgic feelings will end there.

Darnold, who played at San Clemente High School in southern Orange County and again at USC before being selected third overall in the 2018 draft by the New York Jets, has played in Southern California just once since his professional career. That was in 2020 without fans, when the then-winless Jets improbably beat the Rams in one of McVay’s most embarrassing losses.

“We’re just going there on a business trip, especially on a short week, but it’ll be nice to see some family before and after the game and other things I haven’t seen in a long time,” Darnold said. “I don’t have to fly everyone out here every weekend to watch us play, so it would be nice if they had a short drive to watch me play.”

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Cayden Steele can be reached at [email protected]