This Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts will play their first of what are currently two primetime games this season.
The other–at least as of now–will be played on Sunday night in Week 11 at the New York Jets.
This Week 9 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings was originally scheduled to be played at 1:00 PM ET, but was flexed to the Sunday Night timeslot two weeks ago.
Kickoff for this game will be at 8:20 PM ET at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
On the call, as is the case for every Sunday night game, will be Mike Tirico with the play-by-play, Chris Collinsworth will be providing the analysis, and on the sidelines will be Melissa Stark.
The game will be nationally televised on NBC.
Originally, this was going to be Anthony Richardson’s first primetime game of his career, but that changed on Tuesday when it was reported that the Colts were benching him and will instead star the veteran Joe Flacco.
Richardson and the Indianapolis passing game have struggled mightily, particularly in recent weeks, and still at 4-4 on the season and in the thick of the AFC playoff race, the Colts believe Flacco gives them the best opportunity to make that playoff push now.
The Vikings boast one of the more stingy and aggressive defenses in football. Minnesota enters this game ranked top 10 in points per game allowed, along with blitzing at the highest-rate in the NFL this season, resulting in a unit that ranks first in pressure rate, according to Pro Football Reference.
The Minnesota offense, meanwhile, is seventh in points per game and 11th in yards per play. They are coming off a loss to the LA Rams, but have had extra time to prepare and rest up with that being a Thursday night game.
