FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 6th, 2021

PATRICK MAHOMES & CHIEFS HOST JOSH ALLEN & BILLS IN 2020 AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME REMATCH ON SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL ON NBC, PEACOCK AND UNIVERSO

Coverage Begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET; Followed by 8:20 p.m. ET SNF Kickoff

“Sunday Night 7” Free-to-Play Game Features Weekly $100,000 Jackpot

Sunday Night Football & Football Night in America Delivering Largest Audiences Since 2015 and 2016, Respectively

STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 6, 2021 – 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs host Josh Allen and the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills in a 2020 AFC Championship Game rematch on this week’s edition of NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with Football Night in America, followed by kickoff at 8:20 p.m. ET from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on NBC, Peacock and Universo.

On their way to a berth in Super Bowl LV, the Chiefs defeated the Bills 38-24 at home in the 2020 AFC Championship Game in the last meeting between the two teams. Mahomes passed for 325 yards and three touchdowns, while wide receiver Tyreek Hill registered 172 receiving yards and tight end Travis Kelce had 13 receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Buffalo holds a narrow 26-23-1 advantage in the all-time series between old AFL rivals.

Kansas City (2-2) defeated the Eagles, 42-30, on Sunday behind five passing touchdowns by Mahomes, including three to Hill. Mahomes is the first player with four games of at least five touchdown passes in his first 50 career starts and tied Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (four games) for the most such games by a player in his first five seasons.

The Bills (3-1) shut out the Texans, 40-0, on Sunday and have scored more than 35 points in three consecutive games. Allen threw for two touchdowns and the Buffalo defense forced five turnovers last week. Calling Bills-Chiefs is Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his record 36th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 16-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth; and four-time Emmy Award-winning sideline reporter Michele Tafoya. Three-time Super Bowl referee Terry McAulay is the Sunday Night Football rules analyst.

NBC’s coverage of Sunday Night Football is led by executive producer Fred Gaudelli and director Drew EsocoffSNF has won a record 11 Sports Emmys for Outstanding Live Sports Series.

Football Night in America features host Mike Tirico and co-host Maria Taylor, Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, Super Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees, former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, and NFL Insider Mike Florio. Co-host Jac Collinsworth and two-time Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison will provide on-field analysis and reports from Arrowhead Stadium.

Football Night, the most-watched studio show in sports since its debut in 2006, begins every Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. The coordinating producer of FNIA is Rob Hyland and the co-producer is Matt Casey. FNIA is directed by Pierre Moossa.

Peacock Sunday Night Football Final, a new NFL post-game show produced by NBC Sports, streams exclusively on Peacock following every Sunday Night Football game during the 2021 season. The show is hosted by NBC Sports commentators Kathryn Tappen and Chris Simms, who will provide instant reactions to each Sunday game along with highlights and interviews. Plus, Football Night in America commentators Mike Tirico, Tony Dungy, Drew Brees, Rodney Harrison and Jac Collinsworth will provide recaps and insights into the day’s biggest moments.

TOM BRADY’S RETURN TO NEW ENGLAND VIEWERSHIP MILESTONES

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ down-to-the-wire 19-17 victory over the New England Patriots in Tom Brady’s return to Gillette Stadium Sunday night on NBC and Peacock ranks as the most-watched NBC Sunday Night Football game since 2012 and the second-most watched all-time.

For the season, Sunday Night Football is averaging a Total Audience Delivery of 23 million viewers – the best average through Week 4 season since SNF’s record 2015 season, and up 24% from last season. Viewership for Football Night in America is up 55% from this point last season with an average of 8.3 million viewers. FNIA is off to its best start through Week 4 since 2016.

PEACOCK TO LIVE STREAM ALL NBC NFL GAMES FOR FIRST TIME THIS SEASON

For the first time ever, all of NBC Sports’ NFL regular-season games, playoff games, Super Bowl LVI, and Football Night in America will stream live on Peacock this season. Peacock features a slate of sports talk content NFL fans can enjoy on the NBC Sports channel, which is free to stream. Shows include Brother from Another, as well as The Dan Patrick Show, The Rich Eisen Show, PFT Live, PFT PM, Safety Blitz, The Peter King Podcast, and Chris Simms Unbuttoned.

To learn more about the NFL on Peacock, including how to watch and sign up, click here. Peacock Premium is included at no additional cost for Comcast’s eligible Xfinity X1 and Flex customers and Cox Contour customers.

NBCSPORTS.COM & NBC SPORTS APP TO LIVE STREAM ALL NBC NFL GAMES

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream all NBC games to desktops, mobile, tablets, and connected TVs via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The full HD-quality video stream will come directly from NBC’s broadcasts. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, and Chromecast.

TELEMUNDO DEPORTES TO PRESENT ENTIRE NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE, INCLUDING PLAYOFFS AND SUPER BOWL LVI

Telemundo Deportes will again carry the entire NBC Sunday Night Football package, including exclusive Spanish-language coverage of Super Bowl LVI, live for the first time on the Telemundo Network — marking the first time ever that a Super Bowl will be televised on a Spanish-language broadcast network in the U.S. The package also includes 20 regular season games that will be televised on Universo, including the NFL Kickoff game and the Thanksgiving primetime game, as well as a Wild Card game, and one Divisional Playoff game. In addition, Telemundo Network will broadcast the Sunday primetime Wild Card game. All games will also be available on live stream via TelemundoDeportes.com and the Telemundo Deportes app.

“SUNDAY NIGHT 7” FREE-TO-PLAY GAME RETURNS WITH $100,000 JACKPOT EVERY CONTEST

Once again this season, in the build-up to each week’s Sunday Night Football matchup, fans can participate in NBC Sports’ free-to-play game, Sunday Night 7, which features a $100,000 jackpot every contest for each game in the Sunday Night Football package, as well as two NFL Wild Card playoff games and one NFL Divisional Playoff. Sunday Night 7 is available for download NOW on the NBC Sports Predictor app powered by PointsBet (available in the App Store and Google Play Store) and at NBCSports.com/Predictor.

In Sunday’s game, one user finished in first place with a score of 60 points.

POINTSBET AND NBC SPORTS INCLUDE EXCLUSIVE BETTING INTEGRATIONS INTO FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA AND PEACOCK SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL FINAL POST-GAME SHOW

This season, PointsBet and NBC Sports include exclusive betting integrations on the Football Night in America studio show and the new Peacock Sunday Night Football Final postgame show. Click here for more information.

PETER KING’S NFL COLUMN “FOOTBALL MORNING IN AMERICA” DEBUTS EVERY MONDAY EXCLUSIVELY ON NBCSPORTS.COM

A new “Football Morning in America” will post every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com. 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. The Peter King Podcast streams weekly on Peacock on Thursdays at 6 p.m. ET.

CHRIS SIMMS UNBUTTONED

NBC Sports’ Chris Simms examines everything happening in the NFL and around the sports world. Along with a rotation of NBC Sports hosts including Ahmed Fareed and Paul Burmeister, Chris Simms Unbuttoned analyses the NFL with in-depth Xs and Os breakdowns; one-on-one interviews with players, coaches and executives; and game recaps and preview. The show is available to stream on Peacock on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. ET.

NBC SPORTS EDGE

NBC Sports EDGE, part of the newly announced NBC Sports Next portfolio and one of the internet’s highest-trafficked fantasy sports and gaming websites, offers comprehensive fantasy football and betting coverage throughout the 2021 NFL season across NBC Sports’ platforms. The industry-leading source for fantasy football news and information, the 2021 Fantasy Football Draft Guide is available for purchase now via NBC Sports EDGE’s subscription model beginning at only $3.99 per month, and features more than 450 extensive player profiles, player projections, positional tiers, Top 200 rankings for PPR, Half-PPR, Non-PPR and Dynasty, as well as Individual Defensive Player rankings, sleepers and busts, drafting strategy articles, team reports and much more. NBC Sports EDGE also provides fantasy football coverage and betting insights through its digital shows, A Good Football Show and Bet the Edge.

PFT LIVE – WEEKDAYS AT 7 A.M. ET ON PEACOCK

Pro Football Talk streams live on Peacock’s NBC Sports on Peacock channel from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET on weekdays and re-airs at 9 a.m. ET on NBCSN. Florio is joined by veteran sports commentator Mike Golic on Monday mornings, co-host and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms from Tuesday – Thursday, with a special guest co-hosting on Fridays.

The two-hour PFT Live is known for delivering inside information and comprehensive analysis from an independent perspective. The show covers all the latest news around the league, breaks down reports and rumors and features interviews with players, coaches and executives.

PODCASTS

NBC Sports’ football podcasts provide extensive weekly offerings from NBC Sports’ most popular personalities and present special guests, exclusive interviews, and robust conversations across all of football on The Peter King Podcast, Chris Simms Unbuttoned, PFT PM, and A Good Football Show. While The Peter King Podcast features intimate discussions with the NFL’s top players, Chris Simms Unbuttoned and PFT PM dive into deep conversations around the sports’ hottest topics, and A Good Football Show explores fantasy implications for fans. New episodes of NBC Sports podcasts are available for download each week on all major podcast platforms including:
NBCSports.com/podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn and iHeart.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SOCIAL MEDIA

  • SNF ON INSTAGRAM: Through the unique filter of Instagram, fans will get an in-depth look at each week’s Sunday Night Football game with the most engaging photos and videos from across the NFL. SNF also utilizes Instagram Stories for up-to-the-minute coverage of the league.
  • SNF ON TWITTER: The very latest news, video, analysis from the Football Night in America crew and much more lives on @SNFonNBC, the real-time engine for NBC’s year-round NFL coverage.
  • SNF ON FACEBOOK: With more than 3.5 million followers, SNF’s Facebook page is the hub of football conversation. It’s the place to converse and engage with fellow fans on the latest news and action across the NFL.
  • NBC SPORTS ON TIKTOK: NBC Sports’ presence on TikTok puts the spotlight on the offbeat and exuberant side of the National Football League for a young, highly-engaged audience.

NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS

NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports Chicago, NBC Sports Philadelphia and NBC Sports Washington will again deliver extensive multiplatform coverage of the 2021 NFL season, led by comprehensive live gameday shows, in-depth news, analysis and commentary programming, and multimedia digital content covering the teams in their respective markets.

canVS

NBC Sports invites fans to paint a path to Super Bowl LVI with SNF canVS, a season-long interactive art campaign, which began at the 2021 NFL Kickoff game and continues at each Sunday Night Football game throughout the season.

Each week in the city of the SNF matchup, local artists will create a five-yard long mural inspired by fan input that epitomizes the fanbase’s love for their team. This week’s featured artist is Sike Style, who will be hosting a live mural painting event Friday at KC Live! Power & Light District in Kansas City.

At the end of the season, each of the 20 five-yard murals will come together to create a 100-yard masterpiece showcasing the painted pride that captures the devotion and passion of fans. Click here for more details.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD

Seven-time Grammy Award-winner and multi-platinum recording artist Carrie Underwood stars in the show open for NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

Shot at Industrial Light & Magic’s cutting edge LED sound stage utilizing the company’s StageCraft LED virtual production technology recently used in “The Mandalorian,” the 2021 Sunday Night Football show open for the first time will feature a virtual football tailgate as a backdrop for Underwood’s performance of “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night.”

In addition, the show open will highlight user-generated cameos from some of the NFL’s biggest stars, as well as fans’ self-recorded video from NFL tailgates.

NBC’S SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL IS PRIMETIME TELEVISION’S NO. 1 SHOW FOR RECORD 10 CONSECUTIVE YEARS: NBC’s Sunday Night Football finished the 2020-21 TV season as primetime’s #1 TV show in all key metrics for an unprecedented 10th consecutive year – adding to its record for the most consecutive years atop the charts (since 1950), based on official live plus same day data provided by Nielsen. Sunday Night Football also ranked as the No. 1 show in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic for the 11th consecutive TV season.

2021 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
*Sun. Oct. 10 Week 5   Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs  
*Sun. Oct. 17 Week 6 Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers  
*Sun. Oct. 24 Week 7 Indianapolis Colts at San Francisco 49ers  
*Sun. Oct. 31 Week 8 Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings  
*Sun. Nov. 7 Week 9 Tennessee Titans at Los Angeles Rams  
*Sun. Nov. 14 Week 10 Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders  
*Sun. Nov. 21 Week 11  Pittsburgh Steelers at Los Angeles Chargers  
**Thurs. Nov. 25 Week 12 Buffalo Bills at New Orleans Saints  
*Sun. Nov. 28 Week 12 Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens  
*Sun. Dec. 5 Week 13 San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks  
*Sun. Dec. 12 Week 14 Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers  
*Sun. Dec. 19 Week 15 New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers  
*Sun. Dec. 26 Week 16 Washington Football Team at Dallas Cowboys  
*Sun. Jan. 2 Week 17 Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers  
*Sun. Jan. 9 Week 18 TBD  

*Flex Week
** Thanksgiving Night Game

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING:

Flexible scheduling will be used in Weeks 11-18. Additionally, in Weeks 5-10, flexible scheduling may be used in no more than two weeks. In Weeks 5-17, the schedule lists the games tentatively set for Sunday Night Football on NBC. Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game would be moved to an afternoon start time.

For Week 18, two Saturday games and the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to January 9. The schedule does not list Saturday games or a Sunday night game in Week 18, but games with playoff implications will be moved to those time slots. Flexible scheduling ensures quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks and gives “surprise” teams a chance to play their way into primetime.

–SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL–