The Minnesota Vikings (5-2) would go from the NFC's last unbeaten to second place in the North Division in a span of only five days if they lose a second straight game tonight at the NFC West last-place Los Angeles Rams (2-4) to kick off Week 8 in the first head coaching matchup between Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and his former boss, Sean McVay. The Vikings are 3-point favorites with a total of 48. There's no weather concerns at covered SoFi Stadium.

The last time O'Connell was at SoFi Stadium was when he was offensive coordinator of the Rams and they beat Cincinnati 23-20 in Super Bowl LVI. Three days later, the Vikings hired O'Connell has their head coach, which has worked out quite well. He's the +275 co-favorite to win NFL Coach of the Year, along with Washington's Dan Quinn. 

O'Connell's top receivers tend to fare very well under him. In 2021, the Rams' Cooper Kupp, who will return tonight from injury, won NFL Offensive Player of the Year after taking the receiving Triple Crown during the regular season and then earned Super Bowl MVP honors. In 2022, the Vikings' Justin Jefferson won NFL Offensive Player of the Year by leading the league in two of three Triple Crown categories. 

With a win Sunday, McVay will pass John Robinson (79) for the most victories in Rams history. including the playoffs. This result may well decide whether Los Angeles is a seller ahead of the Nov. 5 trade deadline, which so happens to be my birthday and Election Day. I guess one is more important than the other. Reports have emerged this week that the Rams are listening on nearly everyone, including Kupp. 

Minnesota would clearly be a buyer ahead of the deadline if it does anything. The Vikings might be good enough to win every other NFC division, but the North is loaded in 2024 with every club at 4-2 or better. Every team in it but Minnesota is riding at least a three-game winning streak as well.

The Lions and Vikes are tied atop the North, but Detroit owns an early tiebreaker thanks to Sunday's wild 31-29 victory in the Twin Cities. Detroit is +130 to win the division and Minnesota is +175 -- I like the Lions there. To simply make the playoffs, the Vikings are -650 with No at +425. This matchup starts a very easy run of games for Minnesota, but four of the next five are on the road.

We'll take you through every aspect of the Vikings-Rams game that you need to know before you lock in your bets, including SportsLine expert picks, props, trends, DFS, injury information and everything else that will help you know which plays are worth making for the primetime matchup.

Who wins Vikings vs. Rams in the Week 8 Thursday night game, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit HARD? Join SportsLine right now to see everything you need to know about the game in the Thursday night matchup to kick off Week 8 of the 2024 season!!