Thursday Night Football tonight features two teams that seem to be heading in opposite directions in the NFL standings. One is seeing a late-season revival and push for a playoff spot, while the other has basically given up and is already looking ahead to next season. Let’s look at who is playing tonight, what time the game starts, and how you can watch it.
Who Plays on Thursday Night Football Tonight?
Teams
Las Vegas Raiders (5-7) @ Los Angeles Rams (3-9)
Location
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Thursday Night Football tonight will feature the Las Vegas Raiders as they travel to SoFi Stadium to take on the Los Angeles Rams. The Raiders are coming off an exciting 27-20 win against their AFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers. They are now looking to get their fourth straight victory and are still somehow in the thick of the AFC playoff picture.
Meanwhile, the Rams are currently in the middle of an all-time collapse after winning the Super Bowl last year. Their QB Matthew Stafford is likely done for the season. Aaron Donald is battling injuries, and we haven’t seen Cooper Kupp for weeks. They have lost six straight games and are now 3-9 on the season. Things are so dire for LA that they just picked up Baker Mayfield from the waiver wire to potentially start this game.
If you break down the numbers even further for Los Angeles, the situation gets even worse. They are currently 25th in the league in passing offense, 30th in rushing offense, and are almost dead last in scoring offense (29th). The combination of Matthew Stafford starting the year with Bryce Perkins and John Wolford taking over these last few weeks has not done their offensive numbers any favors.
Meanwhile, the Raiders, who are finding ways to win after a rough start to the season, are finally starting to click on the offensive side of the ball. The offseason acquisition of Davante Adams has paid dividends, and QB Derek Carr has been the No. 1 beneficiary. Las Vegas is ninth in the league in passing offense, averaging 241.5 yards per game. However, the biggest surprise for the team has been the play of running back Josh Jacobs.
MORE: NFL Coverage Map Week 14
Jacobs currently leads the league in rushing yards with 1,303. The only player even close to him is Nick Chubb, who currently has nearly 200 yards less on the year. Jacobs has also been a huge threat in the passing game, and if we look at his total scrimmage yards, he also leads the league with 1,634.
That might be an issue for a Rams team that struggles to stop the run, especially at home. They are currently allowing 106.6 yards per game on the ground. Even though they are at home, sportsbooks do not expect much home-field advantage. Raiders fans love to travel, and Rams fans are sparse at best when they play at SoFi. That might play into the fact that sportsbooks have the Rams getting nearly a touchdown (+6) in their opening betting lines.
PFN’s Betting Director BJ Rudell broke this game down in his early Week 14 picks and predictions. And although he was a bit more optimistic when looking at the Rams’ chances in this one, he also believes the Raiders can pull off another narrow victory.
“No Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson II, or Darrell Henderson Jr. The Rams just surrendered 400+ yards to opposing teams in back-to-back games for the first time since Weeks 3-4 last season. The guy they tried to trade before this year’s deadline, Cam Akers, is now their best offensive weapon.
The good news is that they’re facing a beatable Raiders defense. The bad news? Vegas is on fire with three narrow victories in a row, putting them squarely in playoff contention, even at 5-7. The Raiders’ offense is clicking despite their own injury woes. I’m expecting a narrow victory for the road team.”
What Time Is Thursday Night Football Tonight?
Date: Dec. 8, 2022
Start time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Amazon Prime’s version of Thursday Night Football kicks off at 8:15 p.m. ET. The Amazon Thursday Night Football announcers are Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit.
TV Channel and Live Stream for Thursday Night Football
TV channels: Amazon Prime Video
Live stream: Amazon Prime Video
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