EAGAN, Minn. – The firsts of the Vikings era under Head Coach Kevin O'Connell will continue Sunday when Minnesota visits Las Vegas.
Between now and the 3:25 p.m. (CT) kickoff, O'Connell and the Vikings will proceed through team travel and meetings, a trial run to assess and evaluate operations.
"I think [a road preseason game benefits] young guys for sure but everybody else, me included," O'Connell said. "What's my process like with the call sheet and getting together with our offense and making sure we're all on the same page? Any final adjustments, what's the meeting room setup like, how do we handle the schedule that may be a little bit different the night before games than what some of our veteran players that have been here before or elsewhere [are used to]? And then ultimately just like everything we do, we'll have that after action discussion if we can take it and make it better."
What will Vikings Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips and Defensive Coordinator Ed Donatell be looking for?
Phillips on young players at skill positions: "I want to see guys make plays. The good thing about the preseason is, usually on both sides there's a little more man coverage and guys are trying to evaluate who can really cover when it's crunch time, who can go out there on an island. It gives you some opportunities, particularly at the receiver and tight end spots to see if they can win, see if they can make a play when they get some bump coverage, something we haven't seen as much from our defense. It will be exciting."
Donatell: "Sunday's pretty clear. We're going to be basic, so we've got to be clean on our assignments. We've got to be clear in our communicating with one another. We want to tackle well, and then we want to influence the football. We're a team that wants to work the football and put ball pressure on people, and we want to see that. It's our first chance to see that."
Here are all the ways to catch the action.
SIMULCAST TV AND RADIO
KMSP FOX 9 in the Twin Cities
KFAN (100.3-FM), KTLK 1130-AM and the five-state Vikings Radio Network
Kickoff: 3:25 p.m. (CT)
Play-by-Play: Paul Allen
Analyst: Pete Bercich
Sideline reporter: Ben Leber
Purple Cast
Join Mark Rosen and Tatum Everett for a fun, alternative way to watch the Vikings first preseason telecast Sunday on FOX 9+ (WFTC). We'll bring you interviews with players' families, Viking Legends and local and national celebrities, all while keeping an eye on the game in a casual atmosphere.
Coverage starts at 3:25 p.m. on FOX 9+ WFTC.
*Guests scheduled to appear include the following:
Stephanie Ham
Ally Kendricks
Caitlin Thielen
Jared Allen
Chris Jericho
DJ Skee
Josh Braaten
Jamie Erdahl
Annie Agar
NFL NETWORK
National Cable Television
Kickoff: 3:25 p.m. (CT) live; game scheduled to re-air at midnight (CT)
Play-by-Play: Beth Mowins
Analysts: Matt Millen & Rich Gannon
ADDITIONAL OPTIONS
Click here for the full bevy of options that include over-the-air, cable, satellite, over-the-top and streaming methods.
NFL+ AND NFL+ PREMIUM
Start your free trial of NFL+ today to watch Vikings preseason games live or on-demand.
NFL+ and NFL+ Premium provide all the action when you are on the go. It is available in the NFL app and at NFL.com/plus.
NFL+ is available for $4.99/month or $39.99/year and offers the following:
· Live out-of-market preseason games across devices
· Live local and prime-time regular-season and postseason games on your phone or tablet
· Live game audio (home, away & national calls) for every game of the season
· NFL library programming on-demand, ad-free
NFL+ Premium is available for $9.99/month or $79.99/year and offers all of the NFL+ features and the following:
· Full-game replays across devices (ad-free)
· Condensed game replays across devices (ad-free)
· Coaches film (ad-free)