FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, November 13th, 2022
NOTES & QUOTES FROM WEEK 10 EDITION OF FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA ON NBC AND PEACOCK
“Everyone might think, ‘Oh, things are pretty easy for Tom’ or whoever, but we all have our unique challenges and I’m trying to do the best I can do every day.” – Tom Brady to Peter King after today’s victory
“Rodgers, just like Brady, making his last stand. The pride and competitive nature of these guys is showing through.” – Jason Garrett on Aaron Rodgers’ and Tom Brady’s victories today
“I don’t think this should have any bearing on how things are done in the future. This was a very, very unusual situation.” – Tony Dungy on the Colts’ hiring of interim head coach Jeff Saturday
“Greatest catch of the year. Give him the award now.” – Chris Simms on Vikings WR Justin Jefferson’s spectacular catch
“It’s like they’re playing on hardwood. Fastbreak all the time. Run-and-gun offense. It’s impressive.” – Maria Taylor on the Dolphins’ offense
Maria Taylor and Tony Dungy Interview Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren
Peacock Sunday Night Football Final Streams EXCLUSIVELY on Peacock Following Every Sunday Night Football Game During 2022 Season
STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 13, 2022 – NBC Sports’ presentation of Week 10 of the 2022 NFL season began tonight from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers facing Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football on NBC, Peacock and Universo.
Maria Taylor hosted FNIA from NBC Sports’ Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn. She was joined by Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, former NFL head coach Jason Garrett, former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, fantasy sports industry pioneer Matthew Berry, and NFL Insider Mike Florio. Two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison joined co-host Jac Collinsworth at the site of the game.
Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren joined FNIA in Studio 1 for an interview with Maria Taylor and Tony Dungy. See below for a transcript. In August, NBC Sports and the Big Ten announced a new seven-year media rights agreement, which begins in 2023.
NFL Insider and Football Morning in America writer Peter King was in Germany for today’s Seahawks-Buccaneers game and interviewed Tom Brady after the game.
Football Night also paid tribute to military veterans throughout the show in honor of Veterans Day.
Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Melissa Stark (sideline reporter) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) are calling tonight’s game. Tirico also reported from the field during FNIA.
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Following are highlights from tonight’s edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:
ON 49ERS
Harrison on S Talanoa Hufanga: “No matter where you put him, he’s going to make plays, but when he’s in the box, I love him because he’s very aggressive, he makes up his mind and he goes 100 miles per hour…we talk about Derwin James being an All-Pro safety, this kid is playing like he’s the best safety in the National Football League.”
Garrett on RB Christian McCaffrey: “I love the trade for Christian. I love Christian’s versatility. But what I love most about him though is I love him as a running back first…He’s a great runner first.”
Simms: “Yes he is, but he’s not a one-trick pony. He can run routes like a wide receiver.”
ON CHARGERS
Harrison on S Derwin James: “I’m really looking forward to that matchup against George Kittle. They paid (James) a lot of money. This is a matchup he has to win.”
ON VIKINGS-BILLS
Simms: “That might have been the game of the year.”
Dungy on the Bills’ second half play: “For Buffalo, this has continued a trend of poor second-half play — leaky run defense in the second half, Josh Allen with bad decisions…just not playing good ball. They’ve been outscored 43-12 in the second half of their last three games. They’ve got to get that fixed.”
Simms on Justin Jefferson’s spectacular catch on 4th-and-18: “This is the catch of the year; maybe the best catch we have seen since OBJ (Odell Beckham Jr.)…Greatest catch of the year. Give him the award now.”
Garrett on the Vikings’ comeback win over the Bills: “They are the Cardiac Kids. What was impressive to me about this game was they’re down 17 in the third quarter against a team that’s arguably one of the best in the league at their place…they’re poised, they’re calm, they’re composed. More than anything else, they believe they’re going to do it.”
Garrett on Bills QB Josh Allen and Buffalo’s offense: “I feel like when they lose, he’s carrying too big a burden. When they spread it around and get everybody involved and get that running game going, that’s when they play their best football.”
Florio spoke to Vikings CB Patrick Peterson post-game.
ON COLTS
Dungy on Colts hiring former NFL player Jeff Saturday as interim head coach with no NFL or college coaching experience: “I couldn’t believe it. I was shocked about the whole thing. I was shocked about Frank Reich getting fired. To me, I hate to see that as a former coach. I wanted Frank to be able to pull the team out of this, but (Colts owner) Jim Irsay made a decision. Once he does that, what’s the best thing to do? Not for the long haul, not for the next 10 years, but to win eight games here, and he thought Jeff Saturday. He knows Jeff. He’s a leader, he would galvanize the room, he would get the offensive line going, and that’s exactly what he did.”
Garrett: “Everyone in Indianapolis has a great feel for this guy. He’s never coached in the NFL, but to me the odd thing happened about a month ago. ‘Matt Ryan is not going to be our quarterback, and oh by the way, he’s not going to be our quarterback for the rest of the year.’ All of a sudden, the credibility among the coaches, the credibility in the locker room starts to change a little bit, like, ‘Hey, what are we trying to do here? Are we trying to win?’ So, then you make the move with the offensive coordinator and then the head coach. The biggest thing that Jeff can do is bring some energy in there and get Matt Ryan back in there, Jonathan Taylor back. They were the featured players today. It was a big win today.”
Dungy: “They looked like a completely different offense today.”
Dungy on if Saturday’s hiring will influence future NFL head coaching searches: “I don’t think this should have any bearing on how things are done in the future. This was a very, very unusual situation. You’re making a decision in a 24-hour period…This isn’t long-term hiring. I know this: Jim Irsay knew exactly what he was looking for. He was looking for a leader. He was looking for someone who could galvanize people and somebody who could help his offensive line. Jeff Saturday was the best guy for the job right now.”
ON BUCCANEERS
Tom Brady to Peter King on the Buccaneers’ win over the Seahawks in Germany: “I thought we ran the ball well and some play-action passes worked off of that. When you run it well, you don’t have to be in drop-back protections all day and put too much stress on the passing game. You don’t want to be one-dimensional, and we’ve been one-dimensional too many times this year. The fact that we didn’t have as many pass attempts, I love. The fact that we ran some play action, I love. Guys made plenty of big plays in the pass game and I still think we have more out there to get to.”
Brady to King: “I’ve played a lot. I’ve overcome a lot of different things in 23 years — injuries, things off the field, things on the field. We all have our challenges. Everyone might think, ‘Oh, things are pretty easy for Tom’ or whoever, but we all have our unique challenges and I’m trying to do the best I can do every day. My teammates have had great support and I just want to try and be the best I can be for them and certainly be the best I can be for my family and children. I look forward to spending the week with them.”
Garrett on Brady’s attitude: “That image of Brady last week hugging Byron Leftwich’s neck after they secured the win over the Rams. This guy’s won seven Super Bowls. How many playoff games? You look at that moment and he was as emotional as I’ve ever seen him. The spring in the step, the way he played, the way they looked today – a lot of confidence.”
Simms on the Buccaneers’ win over the Seahawks: “(Brady) looked great today. He was accurate, they pushed the ball down the field. The big thing, too, that ties this all together: the Bucs’ defense is healthy. Akiem Hicks is back. Sean Murphy-Bunting is back. Carlton Davis is healthy. Antoine Winfield (Jr.) is healthy. If they run the ball with that defense, I think they can win a lot of games. That Seattle offense has been making plays with everybody and it didn’t happen easily today.”
ON CHIEFS
Dungy on Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney: “Kadarius (Toney) was more involved. He’s going to be a big factor down the stretch.”
Garrett on the Chiefs’ offense: “They got a master orchestrating it. Andy (Reid) is fantastic, Eric (Bieniemy) is fantastic. Patrick (Mahomes) helps, and then he gets these other guys going and they’re hard to stop.”
ON GIANTS
Garrett: “The G-men are rolling…(Saquon Barkley) has been fantastic. He’s back. He’s healthy. Brian Daboll is doing a heck of a job with the Giants.”
ON DOLPHINS
Simms on the Dolphins offense: “You can’t stop this. They have everything. (Mike) McDaniel is as creative as it gets, and then with the weapons and Tua (Tagovailoa) making smart decisions and making a play every now and then, they’re fun to watch.”
Taylor: “It’s like they’re playing on hardwood. Fastbreak all the time. Run-and-gun offense. It’s impressive.”
ON PACKERS
Simms on the Packers’ win over the Cowboys: “What we had today was an emergence of a downfield passing game in Green Bay. Their offense was explosive. (Aaron) Rodgers, 14 completions for over 220 yards. Dink-and-dunk offense, see you later…don’t count them out yet with number 12 at QB.”
Garrett on Aaron Rodgers’ performance in Green Bay’s win over Dallas: “Rodgers, just like Brady, making his last stand. The pride and competitive nature of these guys is showing through…They threw the ball down the field and that was the difference today.”
ON RAMS
Florio on Rams WR Cooper Kupp’s ankle injury sustained in the Rams’ loss to the Cardinals: “It doesn’t look great right now. They’re still waiting to find out more, but if he misses time, look for Van Jefferson to be among the Rams to get more opportunities.”
ON STEELERS
Dungy on the return of LB T.J. Watt: “He made a difference today. That defense was energized, they played well, and those young guys made plays in the back.”
ON LIONS-BEARS
Dungy on controversial hands-to-the-face penalty by Bears: “Instead of having the ball with a two-score lead, Detroit now takes it in and scores and makes it a one-score game. That was just a critical, critical error on the officials.”
Simms on Bears QB Justin Fields: “He’s special. He’s arguably the best running quarterback in football right now. I think he has surpassed Lamar Jackson.”
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BIG TEN COMMISSIONER KEVIN WARREN INTERVIEW WITH MARIA TAYLOR AND TONY DUNGY
Warren on the Big Ten’s seven-year media rights agreement with NBC: “Pure excitement. When you have an opportunity to have a partnership with NBC and Peacock, this is family. We’re so excited to bring the Big Ten to NBC and do great things and have an opportunity to amplify our incredible student-athletes.”
Warren on the addition of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten: “One of the things we’ve done is recognize the fact that we’re doing everything we can to integrate USC and UCLA into the conference. Now we’re in the three largest media markets being in L.A. (Los Angeles), Chicago, and also New York. We’re excited but we’re also excited from an academic standpoint. UCLA and USC are great brands, they have great alumni, they’re strong academically, they’re strong athletically and, surprisingly, a lot of our graduates who go to work outside of the Midwest, the number one location is in southern California. We’re looking forward to really amplifying our partnership.”
Warren on the Big Ten’s football performance this fall: “I’ve been able to see all our teams play in person. We have some incredible football teams, incredible student-athletes, but to have two teams in the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings right now is special. Every week they continually need to focus on doing better, but I am excited about where we are as a conference, not only from football, but basketball season has started, a lot of our Olympic sports. I know Maria (Taylor), you were a volleyball student-athlete, and we have great volleyball in the Big Ten, the best conference there. I think these next couple months are going to be exciting and to see what happens with Ohio State and Michigan (football) as we come down the stretch.”
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Peacock Sunday Night Football Final, an NFL post-game show produced by NBC Sports, streams exclusively on Peacock following every Sunday Night Football game during the 2022 season. The show is hosted by NBC Sports commentators Kathryn Tappen and Chris Simms, who provide instant reactions to each Sunday game along with highlights and interviews. Football Night in America co-host Jac Collinsworth and analyst Rodney Harrison also provide recaps and insights into the day’s biggest moments from the site of each week’s SNF game. NFL Insider Mike Florio provides injury and news updates. Matthew Berry provides fantasy football analysis and an early look at the fantasy waiver wire.
— Football Night in America —
