Cowboys vs. Vikings: ‘Thursday Night Football’ game time, online streaming, open thread

Week 13 kicks off with a huge game for the Detroit Lions. The Minnesota Vikings (6-5) are just a single game behind the Detroit Lions in the NFC North. With a very easy looking schedule ahead of them, they face one big roadblock on Thursday Night: The 10-1 Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys have won 10 straight and are looking to lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They can actually clinch a playoff spot this week if they defeat the Vikings and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose on Sunday against the Chargers. Despite being the only team in the NFL with only a single loss, the Cowboys are just two games ahead of the New York Giants, so this game still means a lot to them.

The Vikings will reportedly be without their head coach, Mike Zimmer, who had to undergo emergency eye surgery on Wednesday night.

For Lions fans, the rooting interest is simple: a Vikings loss tremendously helps the Lions’ chances at winning the NFC North. According to FiveThirtyEight.com, the Lions’ playoff chances go up five percent with a Vikings loss and drop five percent with a Vikings win.

Here’s the information for Thursday’s game:

Time: 8:25 p.m. ET

Location: U.S. Bank Stadium - Minneapolis, MN

TV: NFL Network, NBC

Announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Heather Cox

Online streaming: NBC Sports, Twitter