FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 7th, 2022

JETS HEAD COACH ROBERT SALEH SPEAKS WITH PETER KING IN WEEK 9 EDITION OF “FMIA”

“The best defenses in the world are the ones that watch. They’re on the sidelines because the offense can eat up the clock.”– Jets head coach Robert Saleh to Peter King on the Jets’ defense in their win over the Bills

“There’s no quarterback I’d rather have down the stretch, when urgent competence is required, than Patrick Mahomes.” – King on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

“After a season of uncertainty about him last year, it’s looking like he has a good chance to be a good quarterback of the future for a franchise that so desperately needs one.” – King on Bears QB Justin Fields

“There are times you sit on your picks, and there are times you need to overpay for a weapon. This was one of the times GM Brian Gutekunst needed to overpay.” – King on the Packers’ inability to add an offensive weapon at the trade deadline

STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 7, 2022 – Peter King speaks with Jets head coach Robert Saleh and recaps Week 9 of the NFL season in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also discusses Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ overtime win over the Titans, the Packers’ struggles, the Buccaneers’ come-from-behind victory against the Rams, and more.

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

ROBERT SALEH & NEW YORK JETS

Jets head coach Robert Saleh to Peter King on the reason for his ‘taking receipts on all the people who continually mock us’ comments to the media in September: “I just felt like it was important to kind of deflect the attention off the players and bring it on me…We have such a young group. They’re so talented. I believed in them, and I just wanted them to have a chance. That statement was more about allowing them to go play freely, and shouldering the criticism myself.”

Saleh to King: “In the world of social media, these kids are impressionable. They have feelings too. It’s like, shoot, if they just play football, just play, feel free, play the game they’ve loved since they were kids, hey, they’re gonna be pretty good.”

Saleh to King on the Jets’ defense in their win over the Bills: “The best defenses in the world are the ones that watch. They’re on the sidelines because the offense can eat up the clock.”

Saleh to King on QB Zach Wilson’s performance in the Jets’ win against Buffalo: “One of the great things about Zach is how he takes coaching. We told him, ‘Trust that throwing the ball away is a positive play.’ We’re not asking Zach to be our Superman yet. One day we will. And there will be times we need him to be, but now’s not that time.”

Saleh to King on the Jets’ mentality throughout this season: “When you lose games, it’s ‘fire everybody.’ When you win games it’s amazing. So just keep our head down. Try to educate our players. Stay off social media the best you can.”

WEEK 9

King on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ performance in Kansas City’s win against Tennessee: “There’s no quarterback I’d rather have down the stretch, when urgent competence is required, than Patrick Mahomes.”

King: “Mahomes is apace to throw for a career-high 5,536 yards this season. After all the hullaballoo over the Tyreek Hill loss, that’d be 697 yards more than he compiled last year in his only other 17-game season – when Hill was his ace.”

King on the Chiefs’ wide receivers: “(Mahomes’) mostly new cadre of receivers, post-Tyreek (Hill), is plenty good enough.”

King on the Rams’ loss to the Buccaneers: “I can’t see the 3-5 Rams making a run this year, not after gaining 206 yards and registering nine first downs against a team that had lost five of the last six. Whew.”

King on the Vikings’ ability to win close games: “Foes have out-rushed and out-passed them, and opposing QBs have a higher passer rating than (Kirk) Cousins. But Minnesota’s been a good fourth-quarter team (70-37 in points) and there’s something to winning the close games consistently, seeing that so many games are one-score games.”

KING’S WEEK 9 AWARDS

Offensive Players of the Week: Justin Fields, Chicago, Joe Mixon, Cincinnati, & Davante Adams, Las Vegas

King on Fields: “The most impressive player in the NFL Sunday was Fields, who rushed for the most yards by a quarterback in NFL regular-season history, 178 yards on 15 carries, including a 61-yard TD scramble, and also threw for three touchdowns with no picks. Imagine being the best rusher in football in week nine, and having a 106.7 passer rating at the same time…After a season of uncertainty about him last year, it’s looking like he has a good chance to be a good quarterback of the future for a franchise that so desperately needs one.”

King on Mixon: “He had four touchdowns in the first half…Mixon added a fourth rushing TD, from 14 yards, in the third quarter, giving him five touchdowns and 211 scrimmage yards in the best game of his 75-game professional life.”

Defensive Players of the Week: Kerby Joseph, Detroit, Josh Uche & Matthew Judon, New England, & Javon Hargrave, Philadelphia

King on Joseph’s performance in the Lions’ win over the Packers: “The third-round rookie from Illinois had the game of his young life, picking off Aaron Rodgers twice in the red zone and making 10 tackles in Detroit’s 15-9 win over the Packers.”

Coach of the Week: Aaron Glenn, Defensive Coordinator, Detroit

King on Glenn’s defensive gameplan against the Packers: “The Lions cut down practice time during the week but told players every practice snap would be played at full speed. That translated well to Sunday. To give up nine points to Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers was a win for the embattled Glenn and a team that should be better than it’s played.”

Special Teams Players of the Week: Cameron Dicker, Los Angeles Chargers, Jaelan Phillips, Miami, & Jonathan Jones, New England

Goat of the Week: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay

NEWS & NOTES

King on the Dolphins’ recent success building their roster through trades: “Since spring 2020, Miami GM Chris Grier has traded for six first-round picks, traded away four, and used first-rounders to either draft or acquire Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb. That’s one heck of a job.”

King on the Packers’ inability to add a receiver at the trade deadline: “There are times you sit on your picks, and there are times you need to overpay for a weapon. This was one of the times GM Brian Gutekunst needed to overpay.”

King on the Broncos’ addition of RB Chase Edmonds: “Chase Edmonds, dealt from Miami to Denver in the Chubb deal, is the most underappreciated player who changes teams. Denver needed a trusted back badly.”

King on Buccaneers LB Shaq Barrett’s season-ending Achilles injury: “I think the Shaq Barrett torn Achilles is a huge injury at a position with little backbone for Tampa Bay…At some point, you look at the Bucs and realize they’ve just lost too much.”

King on the Jaguars’ trade for former Falcons WR Calvin Ridley, who is currently serving a suspension for gambling: “Ridley is a player the Jaguars need for Trevor Lawrence – a very good outside-the-numbers receiver who, though he’ll turn 29 in 2023, would be a strong addition to a building team. That is, if he’s in a good frame of mind, and if the NFL reinstates him.”

King: “Jacksonville took a shot on a player at the top of his game just two years ago, and if he plays well, the cost will be well worth it; if not, it costs a sixth-round pick and $11 million. Atlanta traded a player it apparently had lost faith in, saved $11 million, and could recoup second- and fifth-round picks if Ridley rekindles his career. Seems like a strange, but good, trade for both teams.”

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.

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