Who are the announcers and referees for the Vikings vs. the Rams on TNF?

Queue the Thursday Night Football music, as the LA Rams return to Prime Time football for their first TNF on Prime live streaming of the 2024 NFL season. While not exactly the thriller of contenders hoped for when the NFL schedule pitted the Rams hosting the Minnesota Vikings as the 2024 marquee game of Week 8, this one is still packed with thrilling drama, under-the-radar narratives, and an over sense of thrill that makes this an ideal NFL game to watch.

It's the LA Rams and Head Coach Sean McVay, facing the Minnesota Vikings, and former offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell, in what seems to be a contest very similar to Obi-Wan Kenobi facing his former padawan Darth Vader. Much like that Star Wars showdown, only one will emerge victorious. The other team will have 10 days to turn back to winning ways.

It took the combined know-how of McVay and O'Connell to win Super Bowl LVI, but the pair never had the chance to try twice. The Minnesota Vikings hired Kevin O'Connell as their new head coach. Meanwhile, the LA Rams fell to a record of 5-12.

Now, the Rams are trying to avoid a similar slide in 2024. And the Vikings stand in their way of doing so.

The Rams are coming off a huge victory in Week 7 that has boosted the team to 2-4. Not out of the woods just yet, but at a much improved spot over the alternative. The Vikings lost a game against their NFC North Division rivals, the Detroit Lions, and that may set up some interesting dynamics for Week 8.

Announcers for Vikings vs. Rams

• Lead Play-by-Play Announcer: Al Michaels
• Color Commentator: Kirk Herbstreit
• Sideline reporter: Kaylee Hartung

The mere sound of Al Michaels voice brings back a cascade of memories of NFL games that span decades. Michaels is the sound of the NFL, a smooth-talking, never-flustered powerhouse of NFL information whose broadcasts are both informative and entertaining. For LA Rams fans, the return to Thursday Night Football also means a chance to see and hear Rams insider information form Big Whit. Yes, Andrew Whitworth brings his straight-talk about the team and the goings-on that add invaluable insight.

Referees for Vikings vs. Rams

Head Referee: Tra Blake

Head Referee Tra Blake is calling games in his third season as referee. Per Pro Football Reference, Blake's crew tends to use the penalty flag a bit less than their peers. They average 93+ penalty yards per game, while the average crew calls approximately 106+ penalty yards per game. Unfortunately, Blake's crew tends to lean on the home team more frequently, tossing the yellow handkerchief on the home team a bewildering 62.5 percent of the time.

And so far in 2024, the home team has suffered from the heightened scrutiny, winning just 42.9 percent of the time.

Full officiating crew

• Head Referee: Tra Blake
• Umpire: Carl Paginelli
• Down Judge: Patrick Turner
• Line Judge: Tom Eaton
• Field Judge: Mearle Robinson
• Side Judge: Don Willard
• Back Judge: Grantis Bell
• Replay Official: Tyler Cerimeli
• Replay Assistant: Tim Robinson

Time & Channel for Vikings vs. Rams

• Date: Thursday, October 24
• Time: 5:15 pm PT
• Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
• Channel: Amazon Prime Video

This will be a thrilling game for many reasons. The LA Rams expect to see WR Cooper Kupp featured in the offense once more. While that is excellent news this week, his appearance and production may simply be to showcase his talents to potential NFL teams as future trading partners, as more and more NFL Insiders point to the LA Rams as the team to watch as the 2024 NFL Trade Deadline approaches.

Of course, a significant win can throw all of these rumors and trade talk overboard. Still, it's truly now or never for the Rams to win.

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