FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 14th, 2020

PETER KING RECAPS THE NFL’S OPENING WEEKEND AND SPEAKS WITH BEARS QB MITCHELL TRUBISKY IN THIS WEEK’S “FMIA” COLUMN

“A rally like this one, and a strike like the winning throw to Miller, was, for one building-block week, something the Bears needed desperately…For one week at least, the promise of 2017 lives.” – King on Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears’ Week 1 win

“I kind of didn’t believe it at first…I was quiet, but I was happy. Really happy.” – Trubisky on being told he won the starting job

“The atmosphere, from the time we came out of the tunnel, was unlike anything any of us have felt…You come to the realization that we’re going to have to do a lot of this ourselves, generate a lot of the energy ourselves.” – Patriots DB Jason McCourty to King on playing with no fans in attendance

“Another case of incredible efficiency by an incredible quarterback…Maybe this is finally the year Wilson wins his elusive MVP, or at least gets his first MVP vote.” – King on Seahawks QB Russell Wilson

STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 14, 2020 – Peter King recaps the games and news from the NFL’s opening weekend and speaks with Chicago quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who led the Bears to a come-from-behind 27-23 victory over Detroit, in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also hands out his Week 1 awards and speaks with individuals from around the league about the uniqueness of this weekend’s games.

Across NBC Sports this week, The Rich Eisen Show continues on Peacock and NBCSN at Noon ET. PFT Live featuring Mike Florio and Chris Simms streams live on Peacock at 7 a.m. ET every weekday. ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest offseason news, and the Rotoworld Football Podcast and Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast discuss Week 1.

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

MITCHELL TRUBISKY

King on Trubisky: “When coach Matt Nagy put (Nick) Foles and Trubisky in competition for the starting job, it looked like he was setting the stage for Foles to win the job. Then a funny thing happened. After five weeks in competition, Trubisky won the job. But he didn’t win the job forever. And when he was firing high and wide again in the first half Sunday in Detroit, Bears fans agonized anew. Same old Trubisky.”

Trubisky to King on his thoughts throughout yesterday’s game: “You can’t go back to that dark place…At times like that, I find myself focusing on my teammates, the guys you grind with. Our relationships run deep. We lean on each other. And I think you’ve just got to believe in yourself, believe you can do it, there’s still time.”

Trubisky on his game-winning touchdown pass to Anthony Miller late in the fourth quarter: “I’ll tell you what was crazy. I was watching the game on the plane home from Detroit, and that play came up, and the receivers coach, Mike Furrey, said to me, ‘You see what 12 [wide receiver Allen Robinson] did?’…Robinson’s got his back turned to the ball, can’t see it, but has his arms raised in the air before the ball even gets to Anthony Miller. He knew.”

King: “A rally like this one, and a strike like the winning throw to Miller, was, for one building-block week, something the Bears needed desperately. Nagy needed it too. He’s joined at the hip with Trubisky, and was when he made the starting call 10 days ago…For one week at least, the promise of 2017 lives.”

Trubisky on being told he had won the starting QB job: “I kind of didn’t believe it at first. I was very detailed in my work. My back was against the wall, obviously, in camp, and all you can do is fight and move forward and show my teammates I can still be the guy…I was quiet, but I was happy. Really happy.”

Trubisky on Nick Foles: “I’m totally grateful for Nick. He’s an amazing teammate. Here we are, in this competition this summer, and he’d say to me out on the field, ‘Wow, great throw! Awesome! You’re trusting it now, you’re seeing it.’ He’s given me so many enlightening points. He’s a guy I want in my corner.”

WEEK 1

King on the Patriots game with no fans in attendance: “So weird, seeing the empty parking lots, the empty four-lane Route 1 alongside Gillette Stadium on game day (it’s usually packed like a parking lot before and after the game), hearing the silence that welcomed the six-time Super Bowl champs when they came out for pre-game warmups. ”

Patriots defensive back Jason McCourty to King: “The atmosphere, from the time we came out of the tunnel, was unlike anything any of us have felt…You can’t really envision what an NFL game is like without fans. This felt more like a high school scrimmage. Maybe you travel somewhere for a scrimmage, and your parents come, but no other fans.”

McCourty on playing without fans: “When you play in a stadium with no fans, no noise, you’ve got to bring your own energy for three hours…Guys were like, ‘This ain’t it.’ And you win, nobody to high-five, no kid to throw your gloves to. You come to the realization that we’re going to have to do a lot of this ourselves, generate a lot of the energy ourselves.”

Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn to King: “To me, travel is the real test this year. How disciplined can we be? How patient? How understanding of the inconveniences? So we’re not going to have many in-person meetings when we travel…Coaches want to have their hands on the player. I get that. But these are different times.”

Lynn on coaching yesterday’s game: “Just different. Really different. I had to watch what I was saying, and be careful how loud I was, because I didn’t want their guys [the Bengals] to hear me, obviously. Being on the sideline, I felt like I could hear every word guys were saying on the field.”

KING’S WEEK 1 AWARDS

Offensive Players of the Week: Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago, Gardner Minshew, Jacksonville, & Russell Wilson, Seattle.

King on Wilson: “Another case of incredible efficiency by an incredible quarterback…Maybe this is finally the year Wilson wins his elusive MVP, or at least gets his first MVP vote.”

Defensive Players of the Week: Aldon Smith, Dallas, C.J. Henderson, Jacksonville, & Jamal Adams, Seattle.

King on Smith: “Smith, lost to football and adrift as a person back in 2015 because of substance-abuse issues, re-dedicated himself to sobriety and football, and it showed Sunday night…An auspicious reappearance by a once-great player who may be back on the road to greatness.”

Coach of the Week: Bill Belichick, New England.

King: “Great coaches take what they have and figure a way to win. Belichick’s only been doing it for most of his adult life, and his first chapter post-Brady was a heck of a good one.”

NFL NOTES

King on Washington coach Ron Rivera: “Ron Rivera deserves a back-pat today for staying the course – and for aiding in the construction of a defensive front that absolutely abused Carson Wentz in NFL Week 1…For the WFT, it was good to start playing sports again. The scandals wore on the players.”

Rivera to King: “The thing I tried to get across, to people inside and outside the organization, is we made a lot of mistakes, and we’re trying to correct them. We’ll learn from the past, but we won’t be stuck in the past. And the players seem to have bought into that.”

King on Seahawks safety Jamal Adams: “I think the most impactful new player on any team Sunday was Jamal Adams. He brought a ferocity to the Seattle secondary I hadn’t seen since Kam Chancellor’s run, and if you know Pete Carroll, you know he wants a rangy, hitting secondary.”

King on the Packers: “Aaron Rodgers put up 43 points at Minnesota…The Pack owned the Vikes. Jordan Love had to be standing on the sidelines Sunday saying, ‘What am I doing here?’”

King on Tampa Bay: “My Super Bowl pick. I should look on the bright side about the Bucs. Tom Brady’s first huddle in Tampa Bay was one month ago today. (Seriously)…Brady’s best friend could be the schedule. Next four games: Carolina, at Denver, L.A. Chargers, at Chicago.”

King on the Colts: “The Colts cannot be losing at Jacksonville. Bad pick at a crucial time for Philip Rivers in his Indy debut. New time zone, same result.”

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

The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage:

    • PFT Live with NBC Sports’ Mike Florio and Chris Simms streams live on Peacock from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET on weekdays.
    • The Rich Eisen Show continues on Peacock and NBCSN weekdays at Noon ET.
    • com: ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest offseason news and updates.
    • The Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast and Rotoworld Football Podcast discuss Week 1 and look ahead to Week 2.

 

A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 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 PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.

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