FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 12th, 2014

TOM BRADY AND NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS FACE ANDREW LUCK AND INDIANAPOLIS COLTS THIS WEEKEND ON NBC’S “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL”

Coverage Begins with Football Night In America at 7 p.m. ET on NBC

NBC Sports Live Extra to Live Stream Patriots-Colts

“He’s treating this like it’s a playoff game.” – Rodney Harrison on Bill Belichick;  Transcript Available to Tony Dungy & Rodney Harrison Patriots-Colts Conference Call

NFL Turning Point Airs Thursday at 1 a.m. ET on NBCSN

Pro Football Talk Weekdays at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

NBCSN Sunday Sports Report Has Comprehensive Post-Game Coverage Sunday Nights at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

 

Stamford, Conn. – Nov. 12, 2014 – Two of the NFL’s top quarterbacks and offenses take center stage this Sunday night on NBC when Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (7-2) visit Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts (6-3) on Sunday Night Football. Sunday night’s coverage begins with Football Night In America at 7 p.m. ET.

The Patriots and Colts enter their Sunday Night Football showdown as division leaders in the AFC East and AFC South, respectively, led by two of the NFL’s most efficient quarterbacks. Luck currently leads the NFL in passing yards (3,085) with an offense that leads the league in scoring (32.2 points per game), ranks second in the NFL with 26 touchdown passes (Peyton Manning; 29), and has eclipsed 300 passing yards in seven straight games. Brady has dominated opposing defenses during the Patriots’ current five-game winning streak, boasting an 18-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, as New England has averaged 40.2 points per game. The Patriots and Colts have each earned playoff berths in five of the last six seasons.

Calling Patriots-Colts is seven-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his 29th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 15-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who has won the Emmy for Outstanding Event Analyst in each of his five seasons in the Sunday Night Football booth; and two-time Emmy Award-winning sideline reporter Michele Tafoya.

NBC’s coverage of Sunday Night Football is led by Emmy Award-winning producer Fred Gaudelli and Emmy Award-winning director Drew EsocoffSunday Night Football has won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Live Sports Series for a record six consecutive years.

Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports, is hosted by 26-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas, who will report from Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. Costas will be joined on site by Collinsworth, Tafoya, two-time Super Bowl winner Hines Ward, and NBC Sports commentator Josh Elliott.

Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1 and will be joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on NBCSN and NBCSports.com, and Peter King of Sports Illustrated. Carolyn Manno will report from Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisc., on the Eagles-Packers game.

TONY DUNGY AND RODNEY HARRISON PREVIEW PATRIOTS-COLTS ON CONFERENCE CALL

Football Night In America analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison previewed this week’s Patriots-Colts Sunday Night Football matchup on a media conference call on Tuesday. Dungy spent seven seasons as the Colts’ head coach, leading Indianapolis to an 85-27 regular-season record during his tenure, and a Super Bowl XLI victory over Chicago in 2007. Harrison played six seasons with New England, and won back-to-back Super Bowls in 2004 and 2005 as a member of the Patriots.

Following are excerpts from Tuesday’s conference call:

Dungy on defenses creating turnovers: “It’s going to come down to pass rush.  I don’t think the secondary is going to create turnovers.  These quarterbacks are too accurate.  They’re too smart.  They’re not going to throw into covered guys.”

Harrison on Patriots’ and Bill Belichick’s approach to Sunday’s game: “He’s treating this like it’s a playoff game because it’s a very difficult place.  They play with a different speed when they’re on that turf, and it’s just something about the fans and just how excited they get when they’re playing against Belichick and Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. I wanted to have a conversation with Bill, and he declined to have a conversation with me. I know how important this game is because he’s really focused on this game.  So I think he approaches it like it’s a playoff game.”

Dungy on playoff implications of Patriots-Colts: “If (the Colts) win this game, both teams will have three losses.  The Colts will have the head‑to‑head tie breaker.  So the Patriots have to be feeling, ‘Hey, if we win this game, we’re not going to go to Indy again this year.’  That’s the way you’re looking at it.”

Click here for the full transcript of the call: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2014/11/11/transcript-tony-dungy-rodney-harrison-preview-patriots-colts-sunday-night-football-matchup-on-conference-call/

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

For the seventh consecutive season, Sunday Night Football will be streamed live online. NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product, will stream all SNF games to desktops and tablets. The full HD-quality video stream will come directly from NBC’s broadcast of SNF. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available at the App Store for iPad and iPod touch, and on select tablet devices within Google Play.

 

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL DIGITAL COVERAGE

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL ALL-ACCESS SNF All-Access includes exclusive photos and videos of the Sunday Night Football production team, look-ins on SNF production meetings, Michele Tafoya’s “Ten With Tafoya” interviews with NFL players, and conversations with SNF and FNIA talent.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SOCIAL MEDIA:

NBC Sports Group’s comprehensive social media coverage includes the Sunday Night Football Facebook page, providing exclusive behind-the-scenes SNF content & digital content from NBCSports.comSNF All AccessProFootballTalk.com, and Rotoworld.com, @SNFonNBC, using tweets, photos, Vines and videos & real-time tweets from Michele Tafoya, and a look at SNF through the filters of Instagram.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BUS

NBC Sports Group’s Sunday Night Football bus returns this season to travel the country visiting the host cities of all 17 Sunday Night Football games and postseason games, including Super Bowl XLIX. The bus arrives in each city two to three days prior to the game and stops at local landmarks and events, where fans have the opportunity to interact with America’s most-watched primetime television show via exclusive memorabilia, and an interactive 55-inch touch screen housing social media elements, photos and video. Fans can digitally follow the Sunday Night Football bus at NBCSports.com/FollowSNF.

“THE SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL”

For the third consecutive season NBC Sports presents “The Sunday Night Football,” a custom-made football from Wilson, which will travel with the SNF crew all season. Fans of SNF on Facebook and Twitter can keep up with “The Sunday Night Football” on the SNF Facebook page, and at the end of each SNF game, “The Sunday Night Football” will be signed by the player of the game.

For more information on Sunday Night Football’s comprehensive digital coverage, click here: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2014/08/28/nbc-sports-group-surrounds-week-1-of-2014-nfl-season-with-nfl-kickoff-2014-and-sunday-night-football/

NFL TURNING POINT – THURSDAY AT 1 A.M. ET ON NBCSN

This week’s all new edition of NFL Turning Point, NBCSN’s Emmy Award-nominated weekly NFL show co-produced by NFL Films, will feature in-depth analysis of some of Week 10’s most compelling matchups, including Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers overtime victory on the road against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.

Airing Thursday morning at 1 a.m. ET / Wednesday night at 10 p.m. PT, the episode will also review the key moments that defined the Titans-Ravens, Dolphins-Lions and Cowboys–Jaguars contests. In addition, the show will feature in-game audio from select matchups, including wired-for-sound segments from Ravens QB Joe Flacco and head coach John Harbaugh, Lions WR Calvin Johnson, and Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett.

Click here for more info: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2014/11/11/49ers-saints-ot-thriller-featured-on-nfl-turning-point-thursday-morning-1-a-m-et-wednesday-night-10-p-m-pt-on-nbcsn/

PRO FOOTBALL TALK ON NBCSN WEEKNIGHTS, 5:30 P.M. ET

Pro Football Talk, NBCSN’s daily NFL studio show co-hosted by Mike Florio and Paul Burmeister, airs at 5:30 p.m. ET every Monday through Friday. Pro Football Talk provides all-encompassing coverage of the NFL, and features a roster of NBC Sports football commentators who share a combined eight Super Bowl titles and 169 seasons of NFL experience, including Cris Collinsworth (Thursdays), Tony Dungy (Tuesdays), Hines Ward (Wednesdays), Doug Flutie (Fridays), Jason Taylor, Takeo Spikes, Brian Westbrook, Ross Tucker, Jon Ritchie, NFL coach Kevin Gilbride, and longtime NFL athletic trainer Mike Ryan.

FANTASY FOOTBALL LIVE ON NBCSN TUESDAY – THURSDAY NIGHTS, 6:30 P.M. ET

Fantasy Football Live is a live and on-demand, multi-platform, fantasy football program that airs Tuesday through Thursday nights at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, combining the best fantasy football expertise from Yahoo! Sports and NBC Sports, including unique metrics from Yahoo! Sports’ leading fantasy football platform, and full integration with NBC Sports’ premier fantasy sports information site, Rotoworld.com.

Hosted by NBC Sports’ Dave Briggs,  Fantasy Football Live features a roster of Yahoo Sports, NBC Sports and Rotoworld fantasy analysts, including Rotoworld’s Kay Adams, as well as Yahoo Sports’ Brad EvansBrandon Funston and Andy Behrens.

NBCSN SUNDAY SPORTS REPORT – SUNDAY NIGHTS, 11:30 P.M. ET

NBCSN Sunday Sports Report, a new, weekly, one-hour program that showcases the news and highlights of the sports properties that are carried by NBC Sports Group, airs every Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Hosted by Liam McHugh, NBCSN Sunday Sports Report goes in-depth into the high-profile sports properties that primarily air on NBC and NBCSN, including the Olympics, NFL, NASCAR, NHL, Premier League, golf, Triple Crown horse racing, Notre Dame Football, Formula One, IndyCar and more.

Click here for more info: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2014/07/14/nbcsn-sunday-sports-report-premieres-august-17/

NBC SPORTS RADIO

NBC Sports Radio will surround the 2014 NFL season with daily coverage on 439 radio affiliates, highlighted by McNabb and Malone; an all-sports show that leverages the unique perspective of two former NFL quarterbacks, and Safety Blitz with Rodney Harrison; featuring three-time All Pro and two-time Super Bowl-winner Rodney Harrison.

To listen to a live stream of NBC Sports Radio, or find your local affiliate, visit www.NBCSportsRadio.com

NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS

NBC Sports Regional Networks, which serve top NFL markets such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Houston and San Francisco, will surround the 2014 NFL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the teams that matter most in more than 43 million U.S. households.

2014 SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NBC will broadcast 19 primetime NFL games during the 2014 regular season including NBC’s annual Thanksgiving night game, featuring the heated NFC West rivalry between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.

2014 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

DATE WEEK MATCHUP
*Sun. Nov. 16 Week 11  New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts
*Sun. Nov. 23 Week 12 Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants
**Thurs. Nov. 27 Week 13 Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers
*Sun. Nov. 30 Week 13 Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs
*Sun. Dec. 7 Week 14 New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers
*Sun. Dec. 14 Week 15 Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
*Sun. Dec. 21 Week 16 Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals
*Sun. Dec. 28 Week 17 TBA
   

*Flex Week

** Thanksgiving Night Game

Follow “Sunday Night Football” on Twitter @SNFonNBC

Become a fan of “Sunday Night Football” on Facebook at: Facebook.com/SNFonNBC

Follow “Sunday Night Football” on Instagram @snfonnbc

Visit SNF All-Access at: http://snfallaccess.nbcsports.com/

For more information about NBC Sports Group shows and properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–