The Vikings might have laid an egg in prime time on Sunday night in Arizona but they are going to get another shot to show NBC viewers their 10-2 record is no fluke.

The NFL announced today that the Vikings game at Carolina on Dec. 20 will not be moved to an afternoon start and will kickoff at 7:20 p.m. as had been scheduled. The game could have been moved because of the NFL's flexible scheduling at this time of season but the league's choices were limited.

Part of the issue is that two attractive matchups that Sunday -- Bengals-Chargers and Packers-Steelers -- were protected from being moved to a night start by CBS and Fox, respectively. Each network gets to select a handful of games it considers valuable enough to protect each season.

The other factor is would NBC really push to not show Brett Favre? Network executives admit the guy is a ratings machine and as one person in the industry recently said, "He's the NFL's version of a rock star."

A few other notes this morning:

-- The Vikings have another shot to clinch the NFC North this weekend with a victory over Cincinnati and a Green Bay loss at Chicago. The Vikings would clinch a playoff spot with a victory or a Vikings tie and a loss by the New York Giants on Sunday night against Philadelphia.

-- Evidently there was one bright spot to the Vikings' performance Sunday night at Arizona. Percy Harvin has been named one of five candidates for NFL rookie of the week honors. He caught six passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. Fans can vote for this award at www.nfl.com/rookies.