FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 10th, 2022

PETER KING RECAPS AN EXCITING NFL WEEK 5 IN THIS WEEK’S “FMIA” COLUMN

“There’s a physicality to the game that must be allowed to happen. You can’t officiate scared, or make rulings from on high based on something you might have seen. Sunday was a weird day. The league can’t afford many more of them.” – Peter King on the roughing the passer call in the Falcons-Buccaneers game

“Micah Parsons is must-see TV in nearly the same way Patrick Mahomes is.” – King on Cowboys LB Micah Parsons

“One of the major takeaways for me one month into the new era of the Denver Broncos: Wilson appears week after week to be eroding the trust the rest of his team has in him and causing teammates to think: This is the great Russell Wilson?” – King on the Broncos

Dallas Cowboys (4-1) visit NFL’s Only Unbeaten, 5-0 Philadelphia Eagles, in Blockbuster Sunday Night Football Matchup This Week on NBC, Peacock and Universo

STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 10, 2022 – Peter King recaps NFL Week 5 and discusses Russell Wilson’s struggles with the Broncos, the Giants’ statement victory against the Packers, and the controversial roughing the passer call in the Falcons-Buccaneers game in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also discusses Geno Smith’s hot start with the Seahawks, Micah Parsons and the Cowboys’ big game against the Rams, the Jets’ win over the Dolphins, and more.

For more NFL coverage, Peacock offers daily programming on the NBC Sports channel for free, including Pro Football Talk at 7 a.m. ET, The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry at Noon ET, Brother from Another at 3 p.m. ET, plus Chris Simms Unbuttoned on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and the weekly The Peter King Podcast. To learn more about the NBC Sports on Peacock channel and how to sign up, click here.

The NFL on NBC YouTube channel offers daily football content for free, with exclusive videos from Peter King – including his interviews with players and coaches at training camps – Mike Florio, Chris Simms, and more. To access all of these videos and more, click here to subscribe.

The 4-1 Dallas Cowboys, on a four-game win streak, visit the NFL’s lone unbeaten team, the 5-0 Philadelphia Eagles, this week on Sunday Night Football on NBC, Peacock and Universo. Coverage begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

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

BRONCOS

King on Broncos receiver KJ Hamler throwing his helmet in frustration after the Broncos’ loss to the Colts: “What level of respect must an unproven young receiver have for Russell Wilson to do that? Which is one of the major takeaways for me one month into the new era of the Denver Broncos: Wilson, by his awful play through five games, appears week after week to be eroding the trust the rest of his team has in him and causing teammates to think: This is the great Russell Wilson?”

King on Russell Wilson’s future in the NFL: “I refuse to believe Wilson’s at or near the end…I don’t know if he’ll be great again, but I do believe he’ll be a good NFL quarterback again.”

King on the Broncos’ chances for success this season: “The Broncos are fortunate to have two wins. They won’t get many more, even with a top defense, if Wilson and (Nathaniel) Hackett can’t turn it around.”

King on Wilson’s mobility this season: “Wilson is in different shape than in his younger Seattle years, and he may not be the same running threat he was early in his career…Nathaniel Hackett needs to put more designed runs, or option runs, in his gameplans, at least until Wilson shows competency playing from the pocket.”

An anonymous NFC coach to King on the Wilson-Hackett dynamic: “That offense was not tailored for Russell Wilson. Hackett’s a guy who wants his quarterback to go all the way through his progressions.”

GIANTS

King on the Giants: “Coaches don’t win without players. Players don’t win without coaches. But of all the teams through the first month of the season, the New York Giants are the best example of a team that has gotten every drop out of its players through good teaching and coaching.”

Giants S Xavier McKinney to King on the team’s relationship with the coaching staff: “We’ve got a real bond with our coaches. From the jump, they’ve given us the freedom to just go out there and play – don’t worry about mistakes. After losing here for a long time, we’re having so much fun.”

SAINTS

King on Saints’ Taysom Hill’s performance against the Seahawks: “Someone’s got to make a movie about Taysom Hill. The most explosive player in the NFL Sunday was Hill, a part special-teamer, part backup-QB, part running back. He scored four touchdowns, three rushing and a beautiful 22-yard TD pass to tight end Adam Trautman. His 228 rushing yards is more than Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Alvin Kamara, and his 10.9-yard rushing average leads the NFL.”

Taysom Hill to King on his experience with the Saints: “There are guys much more talented than I am who never got a chance to do what I’m doing. As I reflect on it, I owe so much to Mike (Westhoff) and to Sean (Payton) and so many others here who gave me a chance – who continue to give me a chance.”

Hill to King after being asked if the Saints’ win over the Seahawks was the best game of his NFL career: “I’d have to say yes.”

WEEK 5

King on the roughing the passer call in the Falcons-Buccaneers game: “With three minutes left in a 21-15 game in Tampa, on a simple sack by Atlanta’s Grady Jarrett of Tom Brady, referee Jerome Boger called roughing on Jarrett. The video of Atlanta coach Arthur Smith was perfect — eyes wide open in horror, mouth agape, hands to his head. All I could think was, The league is headed for flag football if that’s a penalty.”

King on Dolphins QB Teddy Bridgewater being removed from the game after one offensive snap and the effect of new protocols: “Saturday’s agreement by the league and union making it law that players will be removed from games if they demonstrate wooziness or unsteadiness is a positive step…But there’s a physicality to the game that must be allowed to happen. You can’t officiate scared, or make rulings from on high based on something you might have seen. Sunday was a weird day. The league can’t afford many more of them.”

A former NFL official to King on the potential impact of the new concussion protocols on officiating: “Officials aren’t immune from what’s going on in public, and of course they’re following the Tua story. But I can’t imagine making a call, or not making one, because of a situation like [the Tagovailoa story] hanging over the game.”

Ravens K Justin Tucker to King on the importance of holders: “Holding is one of the most under-appreciated jobs in football. Jordan (Stout) hadn’t held a lot at Penn State. For him, the biggest challenge was getting our timing right. Get the laces right — straight ahead. Get the lean of the ball just so. I like the ball straight up and down, leaning just slightly toward the holder. Their work — Nick (Moore)’s and Jordan’s — came to fruition tonight in a big way. The only thing that matters is the 1.3 seconds and all the things that have to be done right to make the ball go straight.”

King on Tucker’s historic accuracy: “He’s now missed 32 field goal tries in 11 years. To put that into perspective, consider that the great Adam Vinatieri missed 116 in 24 years – Tucker is on track to miss fewer than 70 over that same span. He’s the most precise to ever do it, and that precision put the Ravens in first place in the AFC North Sunday night.”

King on the future of Panthers head coach Matt Rhule: “Remember 33 months ago, when Panthers owner David Tepper camped out in Waco waiting for the Baylor coach to come off a family vacation, then signed him to a seven-year, $62 million contract to keep him away from the Giants? Seems like a long time ago now. Tepper doesn’t strike me as the type of guy who will be too worried about eating a big contract.”

King on Chargers’ head coach Brandon Staley’s decision to go for it on fourth down on their own 46-yard line in the fourth quarter: “I think Brandon Staley is the luckiest person in the NFL this morning. I mean, I’m in favor of a good fourth-down risk, but Staley’s call in the fourth quarter was a bad call…the Chargers waltzed out of Cleveland with a win that easily could have been a loss.”

KING’S WEEK 5 AWARDS

Offensive Players of the Week: Gabe Davis, Buffalo, Taysom Hill, New Orleans, & Daniel Jones, New York Giants

King on Davis: “If anyone was wondering whether Buffalo has a top second option to Stefon Diggs, wonder no more. Since the playoffs last January, Davis has been as good as any number two receiver in football.”

Defensive Players of the Week: Micah Parsons, Dallas, Sauce Gardner, New York Jets, Stephon Gilmore, Indianapolis, & Cameron Dantzler, Minnesota

King on Parsons: “Eleven teams passed on Parsons in the 2021 draft. As of today, there’s not a bust among the first 11…(But) I’d bet every one of those teams, even the three that picked quarterbacks, have to be having second thoughts. Daily.”

King on Gilmore’s game-winning pass deflection: “Gilmore, as much as any Colt, was responsible for the season-saving and extraordinarily ugly 12-9 win.”

Coach of the Week: Brian Daboll, New York Giants

King on Daboll: “One of the reasons why the Giants matched their 2021 win total Sunday is because Daboll has the Bill Parcells attitude about obstacles put in a team’s way: Nobody gives a s—…Find a way. That’s what Daboll and his underrated coaching staff continued to do in the 27-22 upset win over the Packers in London.”

Special Teams Players of the Week: Riley Dixon, Los Angeles Rams, & Chase McLaughlin, Indianapolis

Goats of the Week: Jerome Boger, referee, Atlanta-Tampa Bay game, Carson Wentz, Washington, & Russell Wilson, Denver

King on Boger’s roughing the passer call: “Boger called the shakiest roughing-the-passer penalty with three minutes left and Tampa Bay nursing a one-score lead. Let me reword that. The call wasn’t shaky. It was awful.”

NEWS & NOTES

King on Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s relationship with QB Bailey Zappe: “I remember on my trip to Patriots camp seeing Bill Belichick spend a good half of a practice one-on-one with Zappe. Reminded me of the times early in Tom Brady’s career when Belichick spent big chunks of time coaching him.”

King on the success of Seahawks QB Geno Smith: “Smith has shown he’s no one-game wonder. The most telling part of his early success is that he’s stayed very cool under some significant pressure…The faith of (Pete) Carroll and GM John Schneider in Smith was well-placed.”

King on Cowboys LB Micah Parsons: “I think Micah Parsons is must-see TV in nearly the same way Patrick Mahomes is.”

King on the potential of one or more overseas NFL franchises: “As of today, I don’t sense any momentum for a permanent franchise or franchises overseas. There used to be momentum, but now I think the logistics too daunting. It’s a better idea, at least for now, to play more than four of the league’s 272 regular-season games in different places in Europe.”

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 (Mondays) and Florio and Chris Simms (Tuesday-Thursday) streams on Peacock from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET on weekdays & is available on-demand. The Dan Patrick Show streams at 9 a.m. ET, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry at Noon ET, Brother From Another at 3 p.m. ET, PFT PM at 5 p.m. ET. At 6 p.m. ET, Chris Simms Unbuttoned streams Tuesday-Friday.
    • ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest news and updates.
    • NBC Sports EDGE’s Rotoworld Football Show continues the NFL discussion and Bet The Edge Podcast provides daily betting insights.
    • The NFL on NBC YouTube channel offers daily football content for free, with exclusive videos from Peter King – including his interviews with players and coaches at training camps – Mike Florio, Chris Simms, and more. To access all of these videos and more, click here to subscribe

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.

—NBC SPORTS—