FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 4th, 2019

PETER KING DISCUSSES LAMAR JACKSON & NFL SEASON AT MIDWAY POINT IN THIS WEEK’S “FMIA” COLUMN; PLUS MORE FROM TIRICO, DUNGY, HARRISON, FLORIO & SIMMS EXCLUSIVELY ACROSS NBC SPORTS

 “The NFL landscape changed…Lamar Jackson saw to that on a revelatory night of football in downtown Baltimore.” – King on Baltimore defeating New England

“Russell Wilson has my MVP vote after nine weeks.” – King

 “If I were running the Washington search, (Eric) Bienemy, (Josh) McDaniels and (Stanford head coach David) Shaw would be high on my list.” – King on the Redskins’ head coaching search

“It just continues the narrative. When this team has an opportunity to win big games in big spots, they can’t get it done” – Mike Florio on the Vikings on The Mike Tirico Podcast

STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 4, 2019 – Peter King discusses Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ Sunday Night Football victory over the Patriots in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also reports on the main storylines around the league and outlines what to look out for in the second half of the season.

Additionally, across NBC Sports, on The Mike Tirico Podcast, Mike Tirico, Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison and Mike Florio recap Week 9, while Florio and Chris Simms break down all of the action across the NFL on PFT Live and Chris Simms Unbuttoned.

The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:

LAMAR JACKSON & THE RAVENS

King: “The NFL landscape changed. No longer is there one team on Mount Olympus and then eight or 10 teams clawing to get in New England’s league. Lamar Jackson saw to that on a revelatory night of football in downtown Baltimore.”

King: “The Ravens, with consecutive wins over Seattle (by 14) and New England (by 17), have wedged their way into the discussion of teams that can play deep into January.”

Jackson in postgame locker room: “I don’t really care about the person I’m playing against. I don’t care if it’s a primetime game, or playing at 1 o’clock. I’m just trying to win, at the end of the day.”

King on why the Baltimore organization is successful: “The Ravens are progressive in management and coaching. (Jon) Harbaugh has embraced analytics, GM Eric DeCosta for years has studied how roster-building can benefit from advanced statistical study…The addition of Jackson, and DeCosta’s emphasis on the team being built to last, should make Baltimore a contender for a while.”

 

MIDSEASON TOPICS

King on the Chiefs: “I fully back Andy Reid sitting (Patrick) Mahomes on Sunday against Minnesota, though Mahomes was probably healthy enough to play hobbled…Get Mahomes to max health, even if it costs the Chiefs the two seed.”

King on NFC frontrunners: “San Francisco’s second-half schedule is a killer: Seattle twice, the Rams once, and Baltimore and New Orleans on the road…it’s possible 7-2 Green Bay and 7-1 New Orleans could pass them for the top two seeds.”

King on Tom Brady’s future: “To me, (Tom) Brady getting his contract to void after this season is a sign he would like to choose his fate in 2020, not have it chosen for him. And doesn’t he deserve that after 20 mega-productive years with the Patriots?”

King on Jameis Winston:I won’t be surprised, barring an efficient second half of the season, if GM Jason Licht pushes the QB decision down the road and offers (Jameis) Winston a bridge deal of a couple of years.”

 

MIDSEASON PLAYERS

King: “Steering clear of quarterbacks…here are the five players most crucial to the playoff chase in the second half: Aaron Jones, Green Bay, Emmanuel Ogbah, Kansas City, Fred Warner, San Francisco & Andrew Whitworth and Rob Havenstein, Los Angeles Rams.

King on Jones: “What I like about the Packers this year is their malleability…Part of that is having (Aaron) Jones, who’s becoming a Le’Veon Bell-sort of versatile back.”

King on Warner: “With the loss of playmaking outside ‘backer Kwon Alexander to a torn pectoral muscle, the weight falls on (Fred) Warner to be a sideline-to-sideline insurance policy behind the strong Niners’ defensive front.”

 

MIDSEASON COACHES TO WATCH

King on Colts DC Matt Eberflus: “(Matt) Eberflus has integrated scads of young players into his defense and gotten them to play fast quickly. Very highly regarded about the league. Should get a head-coaching job.”

King on Jason Garrett: “Now that Sean Payton has re-signed in New Orleans and likely won’t be going anywhere, Jerry Jones would prefer to keep (Jason) Garrett, but he won’t if the Cowboys have a clunker finish.”

King on 49ers DC Robert Saleh: “He’d better get his best suit pressed, and his polish his head-coach presentation. (Robert) Saleh will be sought for interviews after the regular season, and rightfully so.”

King on Chiefs OC Eric Bienemy: “A natural in front of a room of players. Imaginative. Patrick Mahomes swears by him. If I were running the Washington search, (Eric) Bienemy, (Josh) McDaniels and (Stanford head coach David) Shaw would be high on my list.”

 

KING’S WEEK 9 AWARDS

Offensive Players of the Week: Russell Wilson, Seattle & Carlos Hyde, Houston.

King on Wilson: “(Russell) Wilson has my MVP vote after nine weeks. You pay him a jillion dollars in the offseason because he’s capable of lifting a good team to great heights the way he did Sunday in Seattle.”

Defensive Player of the Week: T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh.

King: “Five years ago, at Wisconsin, (T.J.) Watt was a tight end. Four years ago, he switched to defense. The Steelers are glad he did.”

Special Teams Players of the Week: Harrison Butker, Kansas City & Colin Jones, Carolina

King on Butker: “(Harrison) Butker kicks a 44-yarder straight through. Chiefs win 26-23. Wouldn’t have happened without the solid Butker.”

Read the rest of the FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.

 

The following are highlights from this week’s edition of The Mike Tirico Podcast:

THE MIKE TIRICO PODCAST

Mike Florio on the Vikings: “It just continues the narrative. When this team has an opportunity to win big games in big spots, they can’t get it done.”

Rodney Harrison on Mike Tomlin: “Talk about coach of the year, maybe Mike Tomlin. If he can string off three or four victories, maybe he should have a little consideration.”

Tony Dungy on the Jets: “It’s got to be bad knowing the Dolphins are much better than you are.”

 

The following are clips from last night’s edition of Football Night in America:

    • Thanks Mom: Kyle Van Noy: Patriots LB Kyle Van Noy shares a heartfelt message with his mom, thanking her for all of the sacrifices she made to help him thrive in football growing up.
    • Ed Reed Joins Liam McHugh at M&T Bank Stadium: Ahead of Sunday night’s matchup between the Ravens and Patriots, former safety Ed Reed joins Liam McHugh to talk about his interest in coaching and Lamar Jackson as he leads the Ravens.
    • Week 10 SNF Preview: The Vikings head to Dallas to take on the Cowboys next week on SNF. Mike Tirico, Rodney Harrison and Tony Dungy preview the SNF on NBC matchup.
    • Week 10 Sunday Night 7 Picks: Mike Tirico, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison make their Sunday Night 7 picks for Week 10’s Vikings-Cowboys matchup.

The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage heading into Week 10:

    • Mike Florio and Chris Simms, with guest Peter King, discuss all things NFL on PFT Live, including handing out their Week 9 superlatives, sharing updated power rankings, and making their Week 10 game picks.
    • On Chris Simms Unbuttoned, Simms deep dives into film of two games from Week 0 decided by the fans.

 

A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on NBCSN’s and NBC Sports Radio’s PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.

NBC SPORTS