FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, November 11th, 2018
“FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” – WEEK 10 NOTES & QUOTES
It’s a great rivalry, and the great thing about Dallas – there is always drama around the Cowboys.” – Al Michaels on Cowboys-Eagles
“I don’t think they are upper-echelon, talent-wise.” – Tony Dungy on the Cowboys
“I just don’t know how Todd Bowles survives this.” – Rodney Harrison on Jets’ head coach following 41-10 loss to Buffalo
“It’s the Patriots’ worst loss since ‘We’re on to Cincinnati.’” – Mike Tirico on New England’s 34-10 loss to Tennessee
STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 11, 2018 – Mike Tirico hosted the Week 10 edition of Football Night in America tonight from NBC Sports’ International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., in advance of the Sunday Night Football matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. Tirico was joined on the set by analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, as well as NFL Insider Mike Florio.
Liam McHugh co-hosted Football Night on site from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. He was joined by the SNF team of Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya. Pre-game coverage on Football Night included McHugh’s interviews with Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett and Eagles head coach Doug Pederson. Football Night also included a feature on the Cowboys’ recent struggles, followed by an in-depth conversation about what’s led to those struggles.
In addition, Tafoya interviewed former President George W. Bush after he and former First Lady Laura Bush conducted the coin toss for tonight’s Cowboys-Eagles Sunday Night Football clash as part of the pre-game ceremony honoring Veterans Day.
Following are Notes & Quotes from the Week 10 edition of Football Night in America:
ON COWBOYS
Michaels on the Cowboys-Eagles rivalry: “We started the Sunday Night Football package in 2006. I think we’ve done this game almost every single year. It’s a great rivalry, and the great thing about Dallas – there is always drama around the Cowboys.”
Collinsworth: “You have good drama and you have bad drama – this falls under bad drama.”
Dungy: “The Cowboys always have a lot of drama. Everybody is highly invested, and of course, the quarterback and the head coach get all of the criticism…they had the best offensive line in football…that offensive line has disintegrated a bit, and that has hurt the whole flow of the team.”
Harrison: “I look at Jason Garrett and I think he has failed to develop Dak Prescott. He’s very robotic when he’s in the pocket. I think (Garrett) needs to encourage him to get out and scramble, move around a lot more. You look at the offense – very, very conservative. At least take five or six shots down the field to put the pressure on people.”
Florio: “Jerry Jones came out earlier in the week and said he’s not going to make an in-season coaching change. That was eight years to the day after he said the same thing about his last coach, Wade Phillips. After the next game, an ugly Sunday Night loss to the Packers, he made the change. That’s the thing about Jerry Jones – he will support you completely and totally – until he no longer supports you, and that can come at any moment.”
Tirico: “Is this team talented enough to compete with the Eagles and Washington as the best in the East?”
Dungy: “I don’t think they are upper-echelon, talent-wise. You take Ezekiel Elliott and DeMarcus Lawrence, those are their two stars – other than that, they don’t have stars at other positions.”
Harrison: “What kind of tape are you looking at? Defensively, I look at Byron Jones as one of the best young cornerbacks in the league. I see two really good young linebackers, and they have a solid defensive line. At times, the defense gets discouraged because the offense struggles so much, so the defense plays out of position. They definitely have the talent to compete with anybody in this league.”
Dungy: “You said solid – I’m talking about stars. They’ve got solid players. They lack stars.”
ON TITANS
Harrison on Tennessee’s 34-10 win over the Patriots: “I’m impressed with Mike Vrabel and the job he’s done with the Tennessee Titans. This was a huge win and it messes things up in the AFC.”
Dungy on QB Marcus Mariota: “Marcus really showed some maturity in this game.”
Harrison: “Corey Davis has finally developed into the receiver we thought he could be.”
ON PATRIOTS
Dungy on how the Patriots were upset by the Titans: “The reason I picked this upset is that Rodney Harrison told me that when he was there, he and Mike Vrabel knew how to play against Tom Brady. They did it in practice and they did it by getting pressure up the middle…they did this all day with blitzes.”
Tirico: “It’s the Patriots’ worst loss since ‘We’re on to Cincinnati.’”
Dungy on how the loss affects home-field advantage in the playoffs: “This really hurt New England. Now they are two games behind Kansas City in the race for home field with only six to play.”
ON SAINTS
Harrison on New Orleans’ 51-14 win vs. Cincinnati: “This was a trap game and they went in and took care of business. I love the maturation of this team.”
Dungy: “This was a complete win. They just went out and dominated the Bengals…they came out and slammed Cincinnati right off the bat. I still don’t know if they’re the best team yet – I still like Kansas City.”
Harrison: “Who cares? You don’t want to be the best team now. You want to be the best team in December and January.”
ON RAMS
Dungy on Rams defense: “Breakdowns on defense and undisciplined play, but they have star power and stars who can make plays when they need them.”
Harrison: “I’m looking at (the injured Rams CB) Aqib Talib. I think he’s the missing piece on this defense.”
ON CHIEFS
Tirico on WR Tyreek Hill jumping into stands to replace cameraman following TD catch: “I know there’s a flag that comes with it, and I understand, but he makes NFL history – he becomes the first guy in NFL history to be the cameraman on his own penalty.”
Harrison: “That’s the best celebration I’ve seen.”
ON BEARS
Dungy on QB Mitchell Trubisky: “I talked to Mitch Trubisky at the Hall of Fame Game and he was excited because his coach had confidence in him. He said, ‘Last year I was playing but they were trying to protect me…now he’s giving me the ball and saying go win the game.’ Trubisky is blossoming under Matt Nagy.”
Harrison on Trubisky: “He is playing like a leader. The guys are starting to gravitate towards him. This offense is not predictable like it was last year.”
ON JETS
Harrison following Jets’ 41-10 loss to Bills: “I just don’t know how Todd Bowles survives this.”
Florio on future of head coach Todd Bowles: “Four straight losses heading into the bye week. That’s typically the time that if an in-season change is going to be made, this is when it will happen. CEO Christopher Johnson declined to discuss Bowles’ status after today’s loss, but Jets cornerback Morris Claiborne said the Jets kind of laid down today. That’s never a good sign if you’re talking about the evaluation of a head coach.”
ON BROWNS
Dungy on RB Nick Chubb: “All year they’ve said, ‘Get this guy the ball more.’ He makes these long runs. They got it to him today.”
ON LIONS
Tirico following Detroit’s 34-22 loss to Chicago: “One thing got better for the Lions –Matthew Stafford wasn’t sacked 10 times, only six times today. The Lions were atrocious.”
ON PACKERS
Dungy on RB Aaron Jones’ performance in Packers’ 31-12 win over Miami: “This is what Green Bay needed. Take some pressure off Aaron Rodgers, take some pressure off that defense with the running game. They had it all night.”
ON FALCONS
Harrison on Matt Ryan’s pass attempt to TE Eric Saubert in the fourth quarter vs. Cleveland: “It’s fourth-and-one, all the weapons you have, and you decide to throw it to a guy that has two catches on the year? I live in Atlanta and I’ve never even heard of this guy.”
ON JAGUARS
Dungy on WR Rashad Greene’s fumble late in 4th quarter: “That’s been the story of the Jaguars during this five-game losing streak – mistakes, mistakes, mistakes.”
—FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA—
