Sunday Night Football Week 16: TV Schedule, Live Stream for Giants vs. Vikings

Week 16's Sunday Night Football won't just be without Odell Beckham Jr.—it'll be meaningless for one team when the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings get together.

New York's elimination from the postseason via Washington seizing the NFC East crown Saturday night makes the upheld suspension of Beckham much smaller than initially thought.

The Vikings, though, have everything to play for with an NFC North crown still a possibility thanks to a season-ending encounter with the Green Bay Packers. 

As NFL fans should know, pride can act as a bigger motivator than anything, so star power and postseason implications or not, the Giants will look to put on a show and play the spoiler. Here's everything to know about the NFC encounter.

Game Details

When: Sunday, December 27, 8:30 p.m. ET

Where: TCF Bank Stadium

Television: NBC

Live Stream: NFL Game Pass

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Over/Under: 44.5

Spread: Minnesota (-7)

Team Injury Reports

Player	Position	Status
Devon Kennard	LB	Out
Dwayne Harris	WR	Questionable

Player	Position	Status
Linval Joseph	DT	Probable
Harrison Smith	S	Probable
Anthony Barr	LB	Probable
Jerick McKinnon	RB	Questionable
Adrian Peterson	RB	Probable

Pushing Ahead

Just one week ago, the Giants put on a show, and lost in the headlines of Beckham's suspension-worthy actions lost in just 38-35 fashion to the league's lone undefeated team, hinting that Eli Manning and Co. could pull off big things if given a stab at the postseason.

The chance is now an impossibility, though coach Tom Coughlin doesn't want his team to throw in the towel.

"We got to go forward. Period," Coughlin said, according to ESPN.com. "Obviously you would like to have that player with you."

Manning has two consecutive four-touchdown games but now has to charge ahead without Beckham, owner of 1,396 yards and 13 touchdowns. Running back Rashad Jennings put on a show last week with 107 yards and a score on 16 carries, but without a receiving threat to keep the defense honest it might be difficult to reproduce.

Deepening the hole the Giants now call home is the fact that the Vikings keep getting healthier, likely returning safety Harrison Smith, linebacker Anthony Barr and defensive tackle Linval Joseph.

Without the Manning-Beckham show the outlook seems bleak for the Giants, who have to hope an improving run game can stay on track. Keeping the Minnesota offense off the field to protect a defense allowing 25.6 points per game is the only viable course of action.

Improving When It Matters 

Minnesota might be just 2-2 over its last four, but Mike Zimmer's Vikings sit on nine wins with a playoff berth in sight and an NFC North crown not outside the realm of belief.

Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater plays a large role in this. He's turned it on over the past two weeks, throwing five touchdowns to no interceptions and almost helping the Vikings to an upset of the Arizona Cardinals on the road, only to fall short in 23-20 fashion.

Zimmer has to hope Bridgewater's strong play can translate to better production from Adrian Peterson, who hasn't averaged more than four yards per carry or run for more than 69 yards since the end of November, when he torched the Atlanta Falcons for 158 yards and two scores on 29 carries.

For Peterson, though, he's not too concerned with who does what, not with the way the team's leader has played.

“The fight this kid has, the determination, the willpower – I’ve been talking about it all year,” Peterson said, according to USA Today's Tom Pelissero. “These past two weeks, I’ve seen a different look in his eyes.”

The upward climb by the Vikings only figures to get better with the aforementioned key defensive players getting healthy. It sure doesn't hurt that Peterson should have daylight, well, all day against a defense that has allowed almost six yards per carry over its past two outings.

Everything aligned, the surging Vikings simply need to display maturity and execute.

Prediction

Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

The Vikings aren't losing this one at home, a notion Las Vegas seems to concur with in almost large fashion.

If the Giants had Beckham and something to play for, this might be a different story. But for most of the season, it's been Manning-Beckham vs. the world. Now Manning enters hostile territory with nothing much in the way of weapons around him backed by a defense that struggles against the opposing team's strength.

Long story short, expect the Vikings to ride Peterson while keeping the Giants in check. There's letdown potential here with Minnesota knowing New York's situation and possibly looking ahead to Green Bay.

Just not enough for Bridgewater to allow his team to lose.

Prediction: Vikings 23, Giants 20

Statistics and injury information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of Odds Shark.