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The first official “Thursday Night Football” game is tonight, as Amazon Prime’s first broadcast of the season is set for Vikings vs. Eagles.
The two NFC foes are considered to be candidates to come out of the conference by season’s end. However, they enter Week 2 with differing results from Week 1.
The Eagles come into Thursday night with a 1-0 record, playing spoiler to Tom Brady’s return to Foxboro by defeating the Patriots 25-20. Philadelphia got out to a quick 16-0 lead against New England, but failed to put Bill Belichick’s crew away. The Eagles let the Pats hang around, but Mac Jones and the New England offense could not put together a game-winning drive at the end of the game.
It was a less-than-stellar 2023 debut for Jalen Hurts. The Philadelphia QB totaled just 207 yards combined through the air and on the ground, and a fumble late in the contest nearly allowed New England to steal a win.
MORE: NFL picks, predictions against the spread Week 2
As for Minnesota, the Vikings are coming off a disappointing loss in Week 1, dropping their home opener 20-17 to the Buccaneers. Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay offense gave Minnesota’s defense more problems than expected, while the Vikings’ offense struggled to get points in the red zone.
Kirk Cousins was solid through the air, tossing for 344 yards, two scores and an interception, but the ground game for the Vikings was nearly non-existent, as Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler and Cousins combined for 41 rushing yards.
The Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights from Thursday night’s NFL kickoff game between the Vikings and Eagles.
Vikings vs. Eagles score
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
Vikings | 0 | – | – | – | – |
Eagles | 3 | – | – | – | – |
Vikings vs. Eagles updates, highlights from Thursday night football
8:37 p.m.: Three straight runs by D’Andre Swift, and it’s back-to-back first downs for Philadelphia. Swift is taking full advantage of the increased workload early on.
8:35 p.m.: Turnover! An excellent return by Brandon Powell is negated as Justin Evans strips him of the ball and its recovered by Nicholas Morrow. The Eagles regain possession at their own 26-yard line.
CHAOS! The @Eagles punt on 4th down, then recover the fumble on Minnesota’s return 😮#MINvsPHI on Prime Video
Also available on #NFLPlus https://t.co/eMkDgB1MP1 pic.twitter.com/TCh3EYICex— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2023
8:34 p.m.: Hurts again tries to scramble on third down, but only gets three of the nine yards needed. Philadelphia is forced to punt for the first time tonight.
8:32 p.m.: Vikings safety Josh Metellus is ruled out for the game after hurting his right shoulder on the opening drive.
8:28 p.m.: Cousins can’t get the completion to K.J. Osborn on 3rd & 9, and the Vikings are forced to punt after just four plays. Returner Britain Covery fumbled the ball on the kickoff, but the Eagles regained possession and while start their second drive from their own 10.
8:27 p.m.: Kirk Cousins connects with Justin Jefferson on the first offensive play for the Vikings. The Jefferson-Slay battle is one to watch all night.
Eagles 3, Vikings 0
8:22 p.m.: The Eagles are forced to kick a field goal, as Hurts and the run game could not convert from 10 yards out. Jake Elliott nails the short-yard attempt to put Philadelphia on the board with 9:48 left in the first quarter.
8:20 p.m.: It doesn’t take long for the Hurts-DeVonta Smith connection to be put on display. Hurts links up with Smith on a deep ball for 54 yards and sets up the Eagles in the red zone on their opening drive, getting the ball at the Minnesota 10-yard line.
JALEN. DEVONTA. 🔥#MINvsPHI on Prime Video
Also available on #NFLPlus https://t.co/eMkDgB2kEz pic.twitter.com/6BdiSGPG3s— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2023
8:18 p.m.: Jalen Hurts uses his legs to get the first down for the Eagles. He scrambles to the right away from pressure and gains the necessary yardage to convert on 3rd & 5.
8:16 p.m.: Michael Buffer gets the crowd ready, the kick is up and Vikings vs. Eagles on Thursday night is underway! Philadelphia starts with the ball.
Pregame
8:12 p.m.: Last year, Justin Jefferson was a non-factor for the Vikings. Darius Slay held the elite wide receiver to just one catch on six targets for seven yards. Containing Jefferson will again be key for Philadelphia.
8:04 p.m.: The Linc is rocking as the Eagles get set for their home opener in front of the Philly faithful.
Bringin’ the energy@PALottery | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/HV4ZmiP2ai
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 14, 2023
7:45 p.m.: Speaking of run games, it will be intriguing to see how effectively the Vikings can run the ball against a stout Eagles’ defensive front. Alexander Mattison managed just 34 yards on 11 carries against the Buccaneers last week.
7:40 p.m.: With no Kenneth Gainwell, it will be interesting to see how the active running backs are deployed on the Philadelphia side. Gainwell played 62% of the offensive snaps in Week 1, while D’Andre Swift was in for 29%, and Boston Scott saw action in just 12% of the offensive snaps.
7:20 p.m.: This marks the second consecutive year that the Vikings and Eagles are playing against one another in Week 2. In 2022, Philadelphia handed Minnesota a 24-7 loss, as the Eagles’ secondary picked off Kirk Cousins three times.
7:05 p.m.: There are two season debuts tonight, one on each side. Running back Rashaad Penny is active and ready for his Eagles’ debut after signing with Philadelphia this offseason. On the Minnesota side, defensive end Marcus Davenport is active after an ankle injury kept him out of Week 1.
A couple of debuts tonight: #Eagles RB Rashaad Penny is active tonight after being a healthy inactive last week, while #Vikings pass-rusher Marcus Davenport is active after missing Week 1 with an ankle injury.#Vikings LT Christian Darrisaw is also in after being questionable. https://t.co/KvcSYqPHnE
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 14, 2023
6:50 p.m.: Here are the inactives for the Vikings. The most notable is center Garrett Bradbury, who is dealing with a lower back injury. Tackle Christian Darrisaw, who was questionable heading into Thursday, is expected to be active.
#MINvsPHI inactives pic.twitter.com/NgJyPEsWkr
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 14, 2023
6:45 p.m.: Here is the full list of inactives for the Eagles. The major highlights are running back Kenneth Gainwell, who out-snapped D’Andre Swift in Week, linebacker Nakobe Dean, safety Reid Blankenship and cornerback James Bradberry. All four are starters for the Eagles.
Tonight’s inactives#MINvsPHI pic.twitter.com/ldpgY4wodE
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 14, 2023
6:30 p.m.: As is tradition with every Vikings primetime game, the topic of Kirk Cousins’ play in primetime is a talking point. Minnesota is 8-10 in primetime games since Cousins joined the team in 2018, and looking at his turnovers, he has 19 in 18 primetime games with the Vikings vs. just 50 turnovers in his 62 other games.
6 p.m.: One milestone to watch for tonight’s contest — Justin Jefferson has a chance at history. The Vikings WR enters Thursday’s game just 25 receiving yards short of 5,000 in his career. If Jefferson reaches that mark tonight, he would tie Hall of Famer Lance Alworth for the fewest games needed to reach 5,000 career receiving yards (52).
Vikings vs. Eagles start time
- Date: Thursday, Sept. 14
- Time: 8:20 p.m. ET (7:20 p.m. CT)
Thursday’s game between the Eagles and Vikings is set to kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET (7:20 p.m. local time) .
The game is being played at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
What channel is Vikings vs. Eagles on today?
- TV channel (Minnesota): KMSP (Channel 9)
- TV channel (Philadelphia): WTFX (Channel 29)
- TV channel (Canada): TSN, CTV2, RDS
- Live stream: Amazon Prime Video | DAZN (in Canada)
If you want to watch “Thursday Night Football” in 2023, you are going to need a subscription to Amazon Prime. The streaming service will be the exclusive streaming home of the program for the next decade, and the games will only be broadcast on over-the-air TV in the participating teams’ local markets.
Amazon Prime is entering its second season as the exclusive home of the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” broadcast package. Because of that, those watching the game nationally will need a subscription to Amazon Prime to access the game.
However, the NFL took steps to ensure those without subscriptions will still be able to watch each contest provided that they are in the local markets of the teams playing. As such, those in the Minnesota TV market will be able to watch the game on Fox affiliate KMSP, while those in the Philadelphia area can catch it on WTFX, another Fox affiliate.
Viewers in Canada will not need to have Amazon Prime to access “Thursday Night Football” in 2023. They will be able to watch the games on DAZN, or on TSN, CTV2 and RDS.