Week 8 of the NFL season begins with the Minnesota Vikings trying to bounce back from their first loss of the year when they travel to take on the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.
The Vikings had won their first five games before a last-minute loss to Detroit, which dropped them into a tie for the lead in the best-in-football NFC North. The Rams are coming in off their second win of the season, as they beat the Las Vegas Raiders to get to 2-4.
Minnesota is a solid three-point road favorite and should have a healthy Aaron Jones, who is coming off a big week in the loss to Detroit.
The NFL Week 8 Thursday Night Football game between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The Vikings at Rams game will stream on Amazon Prime.
The Vikings at Rams game is scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. MT/7:15 p.m. CT.
Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit will call the game from the SoFi Stadium booth, and Kaylee Hartung will report from the sidelines.
The Vikings are a 3-point road favorite over the Rams in NFL Week 8 odds for the game, courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Minnesota is -160 on the moneyline, while Los Angeles is +135. The over/under is set at 48 points.
Minnesota Vikings
This week could mark the return of tight end T.J. Hockenson for the Vikings. The veteran has been sidelined since late last season when he tore his ACL and MCL in his right knee.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said it was “very much a possibility” that Hockenson could return against the Rams, although his workload could be limited.
Linebacker Blake Cashman missed the Vikings’ practice on Tuesday because of a toe issue. Hockenson and Aaron Jones were among those limited.
Los Angeles Rams
Cooper Kupp participated in full at practice on Tuesday, while fellow receiver Puka Nacua was limited due to a knee injury after having his 21-day practice window opened up. Defensive end Braden Fiske (back) and linebacker Troy Reeder (hamstring) were held out.
With a line of 3 points and an over-under of 48, the expected result is a Vikings victory of 28-24 or 27-24.
Bill Speros writes: “The Vikings saw their perfect season hit its first roadblock in a hard-fought 31-29 loss to the Lions. The Rams are slogging their way through injuries and barely beat the bereft Raiders. Expect SoFi to be clad in Purple and Gold as the masses from Minnesota relocate to Inglewood for the weekend. The Rams were worst in the NFL against the pass heading into Week 7. Sam Darnold and company could put up some impressive numbers on this inside track. Especially after their near miss against Detroit.”
The site’s formula predicts that the Vikings will win the NFL Week 8 game against the Rams.
The site gives the Rams a 45.4% shot at winning the NFL Week 8 game, with a 0.4% chance of a tie.
It writes: “After extensive simulations, our model gives the Vikings a win probability of 39%, while the Rams have a win probability of 61%.”
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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