“We’ve dropped the ball. We have. We’ve let our coaches down, we’ve let our fans down.” – Derek Carr
STAMFORD, Conn. – December 17, 2017 – Tonight’s Week 15 edition of NBC’s Football Night in America, the most-watched weekly studio show in sports, will include Michele Tafoya’s interview with Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and a feature on Dallas with linebacker Sean Lee, defensive end Demarcus Lawrence and center Travis Frederick. Football Night will also include highlights, analysis, and reaction to earlier Week 15 games ahead of Cowboys-Raiders tonight on Sunday Night Football.
Football Night airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC. Mike Tirico will host Sunday’s program live from Oakland Alameda Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., joined on site by the Sunday Night Football team of Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Tafoya.
Dan Patrick hosts Football Night from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1, joined by Hall of Famer Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, and NFL Insider Mike Florio of NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk. Paul Burmeister will report from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Patriots-Steelers.
INTERVIEWS: Below are excerpts from Tafoya’s interview with Carr. If used, please note the mandatory credit: “In an exclusive interview airing tonight on Football Night in America.”
MICHELE TAFOYA WITH DEREK CARR
On if he ever dreamed of playing for the Dallas Cowboys: “Absolutely. When I was little, I pretended I was a Cowboy and those things. My mom’s whole side of the family is from Texas. We would come home from church – my grandpa was the pastor – we’d come home, we’d all have our spots, (and) we’d watch Cowboys games. My dad’s side of the family is all Raiders fans. He’s from Santa Cruz. Yes, this is like the perfect game for my family.”
On placing all of the blame on himself following the team’s loss to Kansas City: “That’s how I was raised. Whenever I’m a part of something, I’m supposed to take full responsibility. And that’s how I’ll always be. We’ve dropped the ball. We have. We’ve let our coaches down, we’ve let our fans down at times. Other people kind of say, ‘Hey, man, it’s not your fault,’ and I just stop them right there and I say, ‘It’s all my fault,’ because somehow, someway, maybe I could have helped do something better.”
On if being a perfectionist gets in the way of cutting loose and being more free: “Yes, absolutely. This is definitely a game and an opportunity where I can promise you my No. 1 focus is to go out there and have fun.”
On wearing No. 4 in honor of Brett Favre and what he admired about him: “Kind of a perfect segue is that he always had fun. He was always enjoying his teammates, always doing those things, and that’s something I have to get back to. And I’m completely fine admitting that. I’m completely fine admitting that this season has been hard. I’m human. It doesn’t mean I don’t to stop working. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to compete my tail off to fix it, which we will, hopefully, sooner than later. But when I watched him play, he had fun and that’s something that I have to get back to Sunday night.”
–FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA–