“Watching Kelce be the short and intermediate keystone to everything Kansas City does in the passing game, watching Mahomes lean on him during a needy time, I thought, If he never plays another snap after this season, he’s a Hall of Famer.” – King on Chiefs TE Travis Kelce
“Henry is the Mahomes of the running game — I could make him a player of the week almost every week.” – King on Titans RB Derrick Henry
“The Walton/Penner group is not married to Hackett, and barring a late-season surge, I’d be surprised if Hackett makes it to year two.” – King on Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett
“Robert Saleh has to worry less about the feelings of Zach Wilson and more about winning games this year with this team, keeping in mind that benching Wilson isn’t a dumb idea.” – King on the possibility of benching Jets QB Zach Wilson
STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 21, 2022 – Peter King speaks with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Bills head coach Sean McDermott in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also recaps Week 11 of the NFL season, discusses the Cowboys’ win over the Vikings, Titans running back Derrick Henry’s performance this season, and more.
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The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:
CHIEFS
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to Peter King on what made his game-winning touchdown against the Chargers work so flawlessly: “Patrick Mahomes. What the people don’t know is we had personnel issues on that series because of injuries we had during the game. Patrick’s the one with the keys to the car. He knows exactly where to go with the ball.”
Kelce to King on his battle with Chargers safety Derwin James: “He’s locked me up in my career. This year I was lucky we had a timeout before that final play, so I could get my wind. But he’s tough, really tough.”
Kelce to King on the Chiefs’ successful season: “We’re better this year because Patrick (Mahomes) and (Andy) Reid are a year older, a year more experienced together.”
King on Kelce: “Watching Kelce be the short and intermediate keystone to everything Kansas City does in the passing game, watching Mahomes lean on him during a needy time, I thought, If he never plays another snap after this season, he’s a Hall of Famer.”
BILLS’ BLIZZARD
Bills head coach Sean McDermott to King on local Buffalo citizens helping the Bills get to the airport after a blizzard: “Buffalo gets a bad rap because of the cold and the snow, but there’s an awful lot of warmth there.”
Dave Winter, the man who helped Bills QB Josh Allen get to the airport, to King on his encounter with Allen: “I said to my neighbor Norm, who was there, ‘You need a path blown through?’ He said, ‘I don’t know, ask that guy.’ Well, I don’t know that guy, an older gentleman, but he says he went to school with my cousin, and so I asked if he needs help here and he says, ‘Sure!’ So I did the driveway, cleared a good path there, and I get up to the garage and the door opens and Josh (Allen) is standing there. Probably the whole thing took a half hour. Got out, shook his hand. Told him, ‘Good luck tomorrow.’”
King on the Bills’ plan to leave Detroit and go back to Buffalo before returning for the Thanksgiving game: “The Bills decided to go home after the game instead of staying in comfier, snow-less Detroit. Seemed smart. They could sleep in their beds for three nights before returning at midday Wednesday. As much as we think, Just stay and practice in Michigan, so many of the players and coaches have families who need them. It was the right move to go back.”
WEEK 11
King on the success of the AFC and NFC East divisions this season: “The eight teams in the two eastern divisions are all over .500. A tad insane. Never have two divisions in the same year had all teams over .500 after 11 weeks…Looks like we’ll see a lot of Eastern Time Zone teams in the postseason this year.”
King on Bears QB Justin Fields’ historic rushing numbers: “The Bears have averaged 29.6 points in their last five games, and they are 1-5 in Fields’ amazing streak on the ground. It’s a great sign for the future of the Bears’ quarterback, but not such a great sign that the great run hasn’t translated into wins.”
King on Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett: “Denver’s owners did not sign off on the hiring of Hackett last winter, and didn’t even meet the man till the summer. They’ve watched the franchise with a $47-million-a-year quarterback start 3-7, and get swept by the lowly Raiders. The Walton/Penner group is not married to Hackett, and barring a late-season surge, I’d be surprised if Hackett makes it to year two.”
KING’S MVP WATCH - WEEK 11
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City, 2. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia, 3. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami, 4. Josh Allen, Buffalo, 5. Derrick Henry, Tennessee
King on Mahomes: “Mahomes distanced himself from a tight pack Sunday night with his 75-yard drive to beat the Chargers in the final minute at SoFi; a year after losing the explosive Tyreek Hill and working in five new wideouts on the fly, Mahomes is on pace to have the biggest year of his career in passing yards, both in total and per game.”
King on Derrick Henry: “Henry is carrying the Titans the way Earl Campbell once carried the Oilers.”
KING’S WEEK 11 AWARDS
Offensive Players of the Week: Tony Pollard, Dallas, Derek Carr & Davante Adams, Las Vegas, & Derrick Henry, Tennessee
King on Henry: “Henry is the Mahomes of the running game — I could make him a player of the week almost every week.”
King on Pollard’s performance in the Cowboys’ 40-3 win over the Vikings: “On a day Ezekiel Elliott came back from injury, Pollard proved his undeniable value running and receiving.”
Defensive Players of the Week: Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas, Micah Parsons, Dallas, Kyle Fuller, Washington, & Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit
King on Crosby: “What a dominating player Crosby is.”
King on Fuller’s performance against the Texans: “Fuller may have made the play that signals the end of the Davis Mills experiment in Houston. Just 44 seconds into the game at Houston, Fuller baited and waited for Mills to throw a pass to Brandin Cooks. When it was released, Fuller cut in front of Cooks, picked it, and pranced untouched down the left sideline for a 37-yard pick-six.”
Coach of the Week: Ron Rivera, Washington
King on Rivera: “Good to have a calming influence making the tough calls, and Rivera has been just that for Washington.”
Special Teams Players of the Week: Cordarrelle Patterson, Atlanta, Brett Maher, Dallas, Marcus Jones, New England, & Tyler Bass, Buffalo
King on Patterson: “An amazing 103-yard return for touchdown — made more amazing because it gives Patterson the NFL record, and by the fact that it’s the first kickoff returned for a touchdown in the league this season.”
Goat of the Week: Zach Wilson, New York Jets
King on Wilson’s performance against the Patriots: “Two games against the Patriots this year, two awful performances by the second-year QB from Brigham Young. In 26 second-half plays, the Jets generated two yards. You have to try to be that miserable. Really try.”
King on the possibility of benching Wilson: “Robert Saleh has to worry less about the feelings of Zach Wilson and more about winning games this year with this team, keeping in mind that benching Wilson isn’t a dumb idea.”
NEWS & NOTES
King on Packers QB Aaron Rodgers’ and the Green Bay offense’s lack of chemistry: “After watching Green Bay a lot this season, I’m more inclined to think differently about next spring. I think it would be fair in February to say to Rodgers (who will be 39 next month): This season showed how important chemistry with receivers is. We saw a lot of miscommunication this year. We’d like you to come in for some or all of the off-season work this year, so you can form stronger bonds with Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs and whoever else we bring in.”
King on the possibility of trading Rodgers: “I think it might not be altogether nonsensical to consider trading Rodgers to Las Vegas for Derek Carr and a third-round pick. Might being the most important word there. Miles to go before you reach a decision like that, but it has crossed my mind.”
King on WR Odell Beckham Jr.’s free agency: “I think it’s crazy that the fate of Odell Beckham Jr. could be decided by the performance of two teams in a Thanksgiving game. Giants at Cowboys…Knowing Beckham wants to only play for a contender who could make a playoff run, the Giants are going to need a Herculean effort to show that potential Thursday in Texas.”
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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