EAGAN, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings (9-4) will make their second trip to the West Coast in three weeks, this time to face the Los Angeles Chargers (5-8).
Originally scheduled for NBC's Sunday Night Football, the game was reverse-flexed to CBS when NBC picked up the Bills-Steelers game between a pair of AFC Playoff contenders.
The change means that a national audience will have to wait a week and a day to see the Vikings reappear on Monday Night Football and host the Packers (10-3) on Dec. 23. But it also means that Minnesota will be able to avoid another redeye flight.
"We're glad that they moved it to a day game," Head Coach Mike Zimmer said Wednesday.
Here are three notes on the matchup and information on how to watch or listen to the game.
50-50 ball: The Vikings are trying to become the first team in the series history to win consecutive games. The teams have alternated victories since December 1971 and are meeting for just the 13th time. The most-recent meeting — a 31-14 Vikings win — occurred on Sept. 27, 2015 at the University of Minnesota.
Rematch with Rivers: Philip Rivers celebrated his 38th birthday on Sunday with a career-best 154.4 passer rating in leading the Chargers past the Jaguars 45-10 on Sunday. Rivers has started a total of three games against Minnesota that have involved him facing three different coaching staffs. He's a combined 73-of-124 passing (58.9 percent) for 778 yards and three touchdowns with four interceptions for a passer rating of 71.9. The Vikings defense sacked him four times, led by Everson Griffen's 1.5. Griffen also created a pressure that led to an interception by Chad Greenway, who returned it 91 yards for a touchdown.
Debuts of Danielle and Diggs: Vikings sacks leader Danielle Hunter (12.5 this season) and receiving leader Stefon Diggs (997 yards on 56 receptions) will be making their debuts in the series. Both were rookies and inactive when Minnesota hosted the Chargers from San Diego in Week 3 of the 2015 season. Hunter appeared in the opener but wasn't active again until Week 4 in Denver, where Diggs scratched the lineup for the first time. All 52.5 of Hunter's sacks have been recorded since the franchises last met, as have each of Diggs' 358 catches, 4,490 yards and 29 touchdowns.
Here are all the ways to catch the action:
TV BROADCAST
CBS (WCCO in the Twin Cities)
Play-by-Play: Greg Gumbel
Analyst: Trent Green
Sideline Reporter: Melanie Collins
ON MOBILE
Fans in the markets pictured in the green coverage area on the map from 506sports.com will be able to watch the game on their iOS mobile devices with the VIKINGS APP or VIKINGS MOBILE SITE (Safari browser only).
LOCAL RADIO
KFAN 100.3-FM/KTLK 1130-AM in Minneapolis/St. Paul
Play-by-Play: Paul Allen
Analyst: Pete Bercich
Sideline Reporters: Greg Coleman & Ben Leber
Radio Pre-game Show: Mike Mussman | 1 p.m. (CT)
KFAN and KTLK serve as the flagship stations for the five-state Vikings Radio Network.
SATELLITE RADIO
Sirius: MIN 135 or Streaming 819; LAC 121 or Streaming 816
XM: MIN 382 or Streaming 819; LAC 233 or Streaming 816
ADDITIONAL OPTIONS
Click here for the full bevy of options that include over-the-air, cable, satellite, over-the-top and streaming methods.
