FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, January 10th, 2016

NOTES & QUOTES FROM WILD CARD EDITION OF NBC’S “FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA”

If you can’t control your players, then maybe somebody else should be trying to control them.” – Rodney Harrison on Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis

Cincinnati has had a history of taking these types of players… That’s probably the reason they haven’t won a playoff game in over 20 years.” – Tony Dungy

He basically had something to do with the Pittsburgh Steelers winning that game.” – Cris Collinsworth on Steelers coach Joey Porter being on the field

“It’s getting warmer. It’s only five degrees below zero now.” – Bob Costas on weather conditions in Minnesota after opening the show at -6

STAMFORD, Conn. – January 10, 2016 – Following are highlights from the Wild Card edition of NBC’s Football Night in America. Bob Costas opened the show live from TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., to preview Seahawks-Vikings. Costas was joined on site by Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth, sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, and NBC NFL analyst Hines Ward. At the time of the show, the temperature on the field was six degrees below zero.

Dan Patrick co-hosted Football Night, the most-watched weekly studio show in sports, from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn. He was joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy; two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison; and NFL Insiders Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com, and Peter King.

In addition, Costas interviewed Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.

Following are highlights from Football Night in America:

ON COLD WEATHER GAMES

Bob Costas: “Unless you are a diehard fan of either the Vikings or the Seahawks, or a member of the polar bear club, you’re probably better off watching this one indoors. The temperature on the field right now is minus six degrees. The winds are 11 miles per hour, which makes it feel like minus 24, if you go by the wind chill. There have been colder games in NFL history, but not many. By next season the Vikings will be playing in a brand new indoor stadium. Two years from now, they’ll play the Super Bowl there. None of which does us any good at all today. These conditions could very well factor into the outcome of the game.”

Rodney Harrison: “I played in a few cold weather games. I think it’s more mental than anything.”

Tony Dungy: “I played in the 1978 AFC Championship game. It was cold and raining. We were playing the Houston Oilers and every time you hit the ground it felt like you were diving into ice water. They were warming up with jackets on, not just their uniforms. I said, ‘We’ve got this game won.’”

Costas: “It’s getting warmer. It’s only five degrees below zero now.”

ON STEELERS – BENGALS

Harrison on LB Vontaze Burfict and CB Adam Jones: “I think they are two selfish players. You work all year to put yourself in a position to make a playoff run, with a backup quarterback, and you have two guys clearly acting like thugs on the football field. If I’m Marvin Lewis, if you can’t control your players, then maybe somebody else should be trying to control them.”

Cris Collinsworth: “I’m still recovering a little bit from watching that game last night. That hit was horrific (Burfict’s hit on Steelers WR Antonio Brown). It was a scary hit and obviously has no place in the game. I didn’t like when Ben Roethlisberger was cheered when he was hurt and taken off the field. A bit of an embarrassment for Cincinnati there. I will say this, Joey Porter being on the field, as an assistant coach, and somehow eliciting that response from Adam “Pacman” Jones is a problem, too. There has to be a way that you separate out the coach on the field and not being on the field. He basically had something to do with the Pittsburgh Steelers winning that game.”

Dungy: “I’m not going to put it all on Marvin Lewis. To me, this is an organizational decision. Cincinnati has had a history of taking these types of players. Vontaze Burfict is first-round talent, but he didn’t get drafted for a reason. There were 31 other teams that said we are going to pass on this guy. Cincinnati takes these guys over, and over, and over again. That’s probably the reason they haven’t won a playoff game in over 20 years.”

Harrison: “You can’t give Marvin Lewis a pass. These are the type of things that happened all year with Vontaze Burfict.”

Peter King on Burfict: “He was already in league purgatory for a huge hit on Max Williams that was not flagged in the Week 17 game against Baltimore. I expect for Vontaze Burfict to begin next year with a suspension from the NFL.”

Mike Florio: “With Hue Jackson in heavy demand for head coaching jobs elsewhere, the question becomes whether Mike Brown would consider replacing Lewis, who has been there 13 years, with Hue Jackson. If Mike Brown is tempted to do that, he needs to move quickly because Hue Jackson could end up with another job somewhere else soon.”

ON STEELERS OUTSIDE LINBACKERS COACH JOEY PORTER BEING ON THE FIELD

Dungy: “Assistant coaches can’t be on the field. It doesn’t excuse Cincinnati’s behavior, but rules are rules.”

Harrison: “I don’t care what an assistant coach says to me because he doesn’t really have an impact on the game. He’s on the field. I don’t care what Joey Porter says. It’s up to me as a player to control my emotions.”

ADRIAN PETERSON WITH BOB COSTAS

On being 100 percent healthy for the game, after missing practice this week due to a lower back injury: “I’ll be extremely close. I was able to rest up and that’s kind of really what I needed. Come Sunday (today), I’ll be ready to roll.”

On performing better against Seattle’s defense, compared to the team’s previous matchup during the regular season (Peterson had 18 rushing yards on eight carries in the Vikings Week 13 matchup with the Seahawks): “We need to come into the game with a different mindset and really take advantage of our opportunities. I think back on that game and they got us out of our rhythm and what we do best. They kind of made us one dimensional. They’re a great defense. They are proven, but I definitely see a different outcome this Sunday.”

On only having one 100-yard rushing performance in the last five games of the regular season: “I feel like teams have been coming in and really focusing on stopping the run, so that has a little to do with it. When I go back and watch the film, I really have to put it on myself. There are a lot of plays that I left out there. Whether it was it was not being patient enough and not letting things develop, or just being too fast.”

On preparing to play in the extreme cold: “No, I don’t care what anyone says. You’re not used to going out and playing when its zero or negative, but it’s all a mindset. I’ve been training my mind since the offseason for these outside games. It’s mind over matter. It’s win or go home. So guys got to buckle up and put their best foot forward.”

FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA