Thursday Night Football Week 14: Vikings vs. Cardinals TV Schedule, Live Stream

Two of the NFC's top teams collide when the Minnesota Vikings visit the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football in Week 14.

Were it not for the Carolina Panthers, Carson Palmer and the red-hot Cardinals—winners of six in a row—would get credit as the hottest team in the conference. Palmer's playing MVP-caliber football, his supporting cast looks elite and the defense almost unflappable.

Minnesota isn't a slouch, though, losers of two of three or not. The Vikings boast an 8-4 mark, same as Green Bay in the NFC North, the difference being a loss to the Packers in Week 11. An Adrian Peterson-led offense and strong defense isn't one to underestimate, though.

Here's a look at everything to know about one of the week's most important matchups.

Viewing Info

When: Thursday, Dec. 10, at 8:25 p.m. ET

Where: University of Phoenix Stadium

Television:  NFL Network

Live Stream:  NFL Game Pass

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Betting Lines (via Odds Shark):

• Over/Under: 46

• Spread: Arizona (-9)

Team Injury Reports

Player	Position	Status
Robert Blanton	S	Questionable
Andrew Sendejo	S	Out
Linval Joseph	DT	Out
Harrison Smith	FS	Out
Anthony Barr	LB	Out

Player	Position	Status
Jerraud Powers	CB	Out
Rashad Johnson	S	Probable
Jermaine Gresham	TE	Doubtful
Stepfan Taylor	RB	Probable
John Brown	WR	Probable
Michael Floyd	WR	Probable
Larry Fitzgerald	WR	Probable
Andre Ellington	RB	Out

Injury reports courtesy of ESPN.com.

Surviving Without Key Pieces 

Known as a defensive guru, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has his team playing elite football while the defense surrenders just 19.3 points per game. 

The problem, as anyone could see above, is the injury report.

This week in particular is an absolutely miserable time to lose a stout tackle like Linval Joseph, a strong rusher in Anthony Barr and a sideline-to-sideline presence such as Harrison Smith.

Those three players exited last week's 38-7 stomping at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks, in large part the reason Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns and the Seahawks racked up 173 rushing yards and two scores.

"Not having them, obviously, we need them back," defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd said, according to ESPN.com. "Everybody helps. Everybody counts. We've just got to man up and keep playing ball."

Shutting down perhaps the league's best offense without key names should be even more difficult. Perhaps a strong dose of Peterson will help, though it's something the staff shied away from last week considering AP only carried the ball eight times in the rout. 

Peterson still sits tops in the league with 1,182 yards and eight touchdowns, so expect the Vikings to take a slightly different approach this time. Prepare for tough sledding, though: Arizona allows just 89 rushing yards per game on average.

Staying the Course

As the report above shows, the Cardinals aren't the healthiest team around, either.

So it goes late in the season entering a Thursday matchup. Arizona is still much better off than Minnesota and gets this one at home.

Last week, Palmer and the Cardinals hit the road to take on a St. Louis Rams team that upended them back in Week 4 by way of stingy defense. There wasn't anything stingy this time—Palmer threw two touchdowns and the offense rushed for 175 yards and a score in a 27-3 whipping.

If it sounds like the Cardinals are rounding into form—they are. Not only is Palmer at 29 touchdowns to nine interceptions, but he has three targets with at least 35 catches, 550 yards and four touchdowns. David Johnson just stepped in at running back for injured players and totaled more than 100 yards and a score against the Rams.

Perhaps the biggest issue for the Cardinals going into Thursday is the quick turnaround, though it's not something coach Bruce Arians sounds too concerned about.

"'The big thing in short weeks is regaining that energy and passion to play the game on that short of notice," Arians said, according to FoxSports.com's Bob Baum. "But I think our guys will be more than ready."

With plenty on the line regarding playoff positioning, the Cardinals had better be ready for an upset-minded visitor.

Prediction

The Vikings won't get much credit entering this one thanks to the two losses in three games, but this is a disciplined football team with a promising young quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater and a defense that has helped sweep Detroit, beat Oakland, Kansas City and San Diego and come up three points short in Denver against the Broncos.

So yes, the talent to make this a close game is there.

Still, Arizona's too much for most teams in the league. Palmer might be playing the best football of his career and will get the ball out quick enough to neutralize a good Minnesota rush.

This will hurt the Vikings over four frames. Peterson's going to have a big game on a short week, but he cannot do enough scoring on his own to take down Palmer on the road.

Prediction: Cardinals 35, Vikings 28

Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.