Who are the announcers and referees for Colts vs. Vikings today?

The Week 9 game between the Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts was flexed into prime time with the game slated to take place on Sunday Night Football from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

This is a big game for the Vikings, who are on a two-game losing skid after winning their first five games. In a highly competitive NFC North, the purple and gold can't afford to suffer another loss at this point in the schedule.

Fans of Minnesota will be watching this game closely to find out if the purple and gold can return to their winning ways or if their woes will continue. Some of the enjoyment of the broadcast will depend on the announcers and referees.

Who are the announcers and referees for Colts vs. Vikings today?

Vikings fans will need to be patient, as "waiting all day for Sunday night" could be a chore. However, the national broadcast of this game on NBC and Peacock will get a lot of attention and the announcing team will have their hands full calling the action.

Colts vs. Vikings announcers

Here is the announce team as shared by Awful Announcing:

Play-by-play: Mike Tirico
Color commentary: Cris Collinsworth
Sideline reporter: Melissa Stark

Mike Tirico has been covering sports for a long time. Many sports fans will remember him from his time on ESPN SportsCenter starting in 1991 before covering numerous NCAA, NBA, soccer, and golf coverage. He made hjs way to Monday Night Countdown and established himself as a voice of late-night football.

As far as Cris Collinsworth goes, here's a guy who was a former wide receiver for the Cincinatti Bengals who shifted to broadcasting upon his retirement from the NFL. He started on a sports talk radio show in Ohio before moving to NBC in 1990.

Starting as a news intern in Baltimore and Virginia, Melissa Stark worked on CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and Coach's TV Show. She joined ESPN in 1996 doing human interest sports pieces and contributing to Sunday NFL Countdown, SportsCenter, and Outside the Lines.

Colts vs. Vikings referees

The officiating crew on Sunday Night Football could impact the enjoyment and outcome of the game between the Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts. Here is the crew assigned to the game according to Football Zebras:

R: Shawn Smith

U: Alex Moore

DJ: Jay Bilbo

LJ: Jeff Seeman

FJ: Dyrol Prioleau

SJ: Boris Cheek

BJ: Dino Paganelli

RO: Mike Wimmer

RA: Larry Hill Jr.

Entering the NFL as an umpire in 2015, Shawn Smith was promoted to head official in 2018. An internal auditor in Michigan, he became the sixth black head official in league history. An interesting statistic about Smith is that the home team only won 40.8 percent of games he officiated heading into the AFC Championship game last season, which does not bode well for the Minnesota Vikings.

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