The bye weekend has arrived, and many Vikings players and coaches have left the Twin Cities for a couple of days of R&R.
Minnesota (5-3-1) will return to action by visiting Chicago (5-3) for a Nov. 18 game that has been **flexed to Sunday Night Football** on NBC.
Until then, fans in the area will have a couple of options, beginning with tonight's interconference matchup between the Panthers (6-2) and Steelers (5-2-1) in a game that will be broadcast on FOX and NFL Network and streamed by Amazon.
The Lions (3-5) will visit the Bears at noon (CT) Sunday in a game that will be televised by FOX, allowing Vikings fans an opportunity for "advanced scouting."
While most of the country will see the Seahawks (4-4) and Rams (8-1), the Upper Midwest and Florida will see the Dolphins (5-4) at Packers (3-4-1) at 3:25 p.m. (CT) on CBS.
Here's more info on tonight's game, as well as the rest of the games involving NFC North teams.
Panthers (6-2) at Steelers (5-2-1)
Kickoff: 7:20 p.m. (CT)
Watch/Listen
TV: FOX/NFL Network/Amazon
Sirius: 81 (CAR), 83 (PIT) | XM: 226 (CAR), 225 (PIT)
Overview
The Panthers will try to become just the third team to win a Thursday Night Football game on the road this season and keep in stride with the Saints, who lead the NFC South with a 7-1 record. The other two victories were the Eagles at Giants and Broncos at Cardinals.
The Steelers, who are just 2-2 at home this season, are seeking their fifth win in a row.
Panthers Notes
Cam Newton has averaged 293 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions in his past three road games. He passed for 250 yards and a touchdown (passer rating of 98.5) in his only previous game against Pittsburgh (Sep. 21, 2014).
Christian McCaffrey had 79 rushing yards and 78 receiving yards, as well as two rushing touchdowns, in Week 9. Since entering the NFL in 2017, McCaffrey ranks second among running backs with 129 receptions.
Mario Addison had a career-high 3.0 sacks and a forced fumble last week against Tampa Bay.
Steelers Notes
Ben Roethlisberger has had a passer rating of 99 or higher in seven of his past nine home games. He is 3-0 against Carolina, having completed 54 of 79 passes for 641 yards with four touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 109.7.
James Conner rushed for 107 yards and added 56 receiving yards last week at Baltimore for his NFL-record fourth game of 2018 with 100 rushing and 50 receiving yards.
Antonio Brown caught 10 passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns in his previous game against Carolina (Sept. 21, 2014).
Lions (3-5) at Bears (5-3)
Kickoff: Noon (CT)
Watch/Listen
TV: FOX
Sirius: 99 (DET), 83 (CHI) | XM: 383 (DET), 225 (CHI)
Overview
This matchup between first-year head coaches will be the first of two head-to-head meetings in a three-week span because Chicago is scheduled to visit Detroit on Thanksgiving.
Lions Notes
In four road games this season, Matthew Stafford has averaged 267.5 yards, thrown seven touchdowns without an interception and posted a passer rating of 109.9, which makes the Vikings performance against Stafford (199 yards and passer rating of 83.0) even more impressive.
Kerryon Johnson has averaged 86.3 yards from scrimmage in four career road games. He ranks third among rookies with 503 rushing yards.
Darius Slay has four interceptions and eight passes defended in his past four games against NFC North teams.
Bears Notes
Mitchell Trubisky has averaged 271.6 yards and thrown 14 touchdowns and four interceptions (passer rating of 108.3) in his past five games. Trubisky has thrown at least two touchdowns in each of his past four home games.
Jordan Howard rushed for two touchdowns last week against Buffalo for the fifth multi-score game of his career. He has rushed for 609 yards and three scores in his past six home games against NFC North foes.
Eddie Jackson's 65-yard fumble return for a touchdown last week made him the second player since 1970 (Deion Sanders) with three or more defensive touchdowns of 65-plus yards in a two-year span.
Dolphins (5-4) at Packers (3-4-1)
Kickoff: 3:25 p.m. (CT)
Watch/Listen
TV: CBS
Sirius: 78 (MIA), 81 (GB) | XM: 385 (MIA), 226 (GB)
Overview
The Dolphins are 10-4 all-time against the Packers for the best winning percentage (.714) of any franchise against Green Bay.
Miami defeated Chicago and lost to Detroit in Weeks 6-7.
This is the only home game for the Packers in a five-game span. Green Bay will visit Seattle next Thursday before renewing the Border Battle in Minnesota on Nov. 25.
Dolphins Notes
Ryan Tannehill (limited in practice Wednesday) hasn't played since Oct. 7. He completed 85 of 129 passes for 972 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions (passer rating of 92.9) in the first five weeks of the season. Brock Osweiler has completed 86 of 136 passes for 999 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions (rating of 88.4) in four starts.
Frank Gore (18,204 scrimmage yards) overtook Barry Sanders for sixth-most in NFL history with 59 last week. He's averaged 84 scrimmage yards and scored four touchdowns in three games against Green Bay.
Reshad Jones and Vikings safety Harrison Smith are the only two NFL players with 20 or more interceptions and 10-plus sacks since Jones entered the league in 2010.
Packers Notes
Aaron Rodgers and Stafford are the only two NFL quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts to not throw an interception in a road game this season. Rodgers has averaged 353 yards and thrown eight touchdowns without an interception (rating of 100.3) in his past four games.
Davante Adams has 30 receptions for 445 yards and four touchdowns in his past four games. His 29 receiving touchdowns rank second in the NFL since 2016.
Rookie Marquez Valdes-Scantling's 101 receiving yards last week at New England pushed him over the 100-yard mark for the second time this season.
Full Week 10 Schedule
7:20 p.m. (CT) today on Thursday Night Football
Panthers (6-2) at Steelers (5-2-1)
Noon (CT) Sunday Games
Saints (7-1) at Bengals (5-3)
Falcons (4-4) at Browns (2-6-1)
Jaguars (3-5) at Colts (3-5)
Lions (3-5) at Bears (5-3)
Cardinals (2-6) at Chiefs (8-1)
Patriots (7-2) at Titans (4-4)
Redskins (5-3) at Buccaneers (3-5)
Bills (2-7) at Jets (3-6)
3:05 p.m. (CT) Sunday Game
Chargers (6-2) at Raiders (1-7)
3:25 p.m. (CT) Sunday Games
Dolphins (5-4) at Packers (3-4-1)
Seahawks (4-4) at Rams (8-1)
7:20 p.m. (CT) Sunday Night Football
Cowboys (3-5) at Eagles (4-4)
7:15 p.m. (CT) Monday Night Football
Giants (1-7) at 49ers (2-7)
Week 10 Byes
Ravens (4-5)
Broncos (3-6)
Texans (6-3)
Vikings (5-3-1)
