FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, January 8th, 2023
NOTES & QUOTES FROM WEEK 18 EDITION OF FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA ON NBC AND PEACOCK
“We always see 32 teams competing, fighting, scrapping. But this is a brotherhood. We saw 32 groups come together as one.” – Tony Dungy on the NFL rallying around Damar Hamlin this week
“We got to see the NFL football family at its finest.” – Chris Simms
“From tragedy to triumph, they walk away with the victory.” – Maria Taylor on the Bills’ win over the Patriots
“They’ve been one of the best teams in the AFC all year long and for them to have this added boost and this purpose behind their football team right now, to me, they’re the odds-on favorite in the AFC.” – Jason Garrett on the Bills
Peacock Sunday Night Football Final Streams EXCLUSIVELY on Peacock Following Every Sunday Night Football Game During 2022 Season
STAMFORD, Conn. – Jan. 8, 2023 – NBC Sports is concluding the 2022 NFL regular season tonight from Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisc., with Football Night in America leading into Sunday Night Football coverage of the Detroit Lions vs. the Green Bay Packers, which will determine the final NFC playoff team 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, NFL Insider Mike Florio, and fantasy sports industry pioneer Matthew Berry. Steve Kornacki was also in the studio to break down playoff scenarios. Two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison joined co-host Jac Collinsworth at the site of the game. Football Morning in America columnist Peter King joined the show with an on-site report from Buffalo.
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 DAMAR HAMLIN
Dungy: “What I’ve really enjoyed is the unification that we’ve seen, not only of the National Football League, but of our entire country. I remember in 1990 I was a young assistant coach; some chaplains got together, they wanted to pray with players after the games. We actually got a memo (saying), ‘Don’t let your players do that. Send them straight to the locker room or you’re going to get fined.’ Fast forward to now and we have entire teams, staffs out there praying together, unified, because we understand that life is more important than the game…We always see 32 teams competing, fighting, scrapping. But this is a brotherhood. We saw 32 groups come together as one.”
Garrett: “It’s amazing how this has brought everyone together. For me, in this incredibly challenging life-and-death situation, we saw a lot of people at their absolute best. First and foremost, the medical professionals who saved Damar Hamlin’s life, but also the leadership of the head coaches — Zac Taylor and Sean McDermott. It’s not easy leadership, it’s not black and white. It’s compassion, vulnerability, understanding, prodding and pulling, and understanding when to wait and hold. Not only the night, but all through the week and today. They were incredible.”
Simms: “We got to see the NFL football family at its finest. That was the best thing we saw from this…It hurt to watch a fellow NFL football player be on the ground like that…I think we saw…playing football heals us. It’s so important to the DNA and fabric of our country. It is America’s Game right now, we’ve overtaken baseball. Football is special.”
King on speaking to Nyheim Hines after the game: “He told me that one of the first guys to come introduce himself was Damar Hamlin. They formed a very quick bond because Damar kept telling him throughout the course of the fall, you’re going to break one, you’re going to return one for a touchdown. They even had a little code word — #FreeHines.”
King on Hamlin: “He’s been texting teammates, including very late at night. He texted Tre’Davious White in the wee hours of Saturday morning…but it was more than that. It was the bond that he has formed in such short time, a little less than two years, with this team. His head coach Sean McDermott, after the game, said to him, ‘When you get back here, we’re going to give you a game ball.’ And McDermott told me something that he really hopes comes out of this, he said, ‘Have you seen everybody together? I hope this is a lesson for our divided country. We can be together when we work together and when we love each other.’”
Harrison: “This is not a time to be sad, this is a time to be happy and rejoice because I thank God that we still have Damar here with us…We love you, miss you and we’re here for you.”
Click here to watch video of the segment.
ON BILLS
Sean McDermott to Peter King about Nyheim Hines’ 96-yard opening kickoff touchdown: “(I was) thinking to myself how special it would be if we took the opening kickoff back (for a touchdown) and I know the guys were working hard on it this week. It was almost like, ‘Man, I wonder if that is going to come together at just the right time.’ It surely did and was fun to be part of it.”
Hines to Peter King: “I just thought about how I could impact this game. That’s what I thought about. Before the kick, I said, ‘Alright Nyheim, give us something to cheer about.’ Really happy it worked out that way. Our team – we have Damar’s wings on our back. We were very spirited; I knew we would come out and play. Everything was not perfect today, but I knew we would find a way to pull it off and win this for Damar.”
Taylor on Hines’ game-opening kick return touchdown: “It was a storybook opening in this game.”
Garrett: “Everyone always has those ideas, ‘Hey, we’re going to return [the opening kickoff for a touchdown.]’, but nobody ever does it! And they did it twice. It was incredible…[the game] wasn’t perfect, but it was a team effort, it was a willful effort. There’s no question about that.”
Dungy: “Willful is the right thing to say. I talked to Leslie Frazier, their defensive coordinator, last night, and he told me he’s never been through a week like this. He hoped they would play well, but he didn’t know. It was so up and down. The emotion carried them today.”
Simms: “They’re a unified team. I know that being up there in training camp. They’ll be ready to go next week with a normal week of preparation. Man, have they been through a lot this year with snow storms and this. They’ve overcome a lot of obstacles. They’ll overcome one more.”
Taylor: “From tragedy to triumph, they walk away with the victory.”
Garrett: “What an amazing story in Buffalo this week and today. They’ve been one of the best teams in the AFC all year long and for them to have this added boost and this purpose behind their football team right now, to me, they’re the odds-on favorite in the AFC.”
ON POTENTIAL AFC CHAMPIONSHIP HOSTING SCENARIOS
Dungy on the message he would tell his team as a coach: “Don’t worry about how it happened, this is where we are and we’re going to make it work.”
Garrett: “There’s no theme that coaches emphasize more than control what you can control.”
ON PACKERS
Harrison on biggest improvement during four-game winning streak: “Aaron Rodgers, his attitude. He’s a lot more positive and encouraging. When you have young players on your team like Christian Watson, who struggled with drops and confidence, they have to know that you support them.”
Harrison on speaking to CB Jaire Alexander: “He told me he called a team (defensive) meeting because he was frustrated with his defense. He basically said, ‘Either you’re in or you’re out.’ After that, he said the defense started playing really well, creating turnovers.”
ON LIONS
Dungy: “They’ve got a two-headed monster in the running game. Jamaal Williams, he gives them inside, power running – an attitude that we’re going to be tough and physical. Then they come with D’Andre Swift with his speed to the outside.”
Harrison on WR Amon-Ra St. Brown: “He’s the hidden gem in their offense. He’s very versatile – can play in the slot, out wide, and they use him as a running back like (49ers WR) Deebo Samuel.”
Dungy on what he’d say to the Lions knowing they can’t advance to the playoffs: “We have a chance to get some respect. We beat this team last time and they acted like it was a fluke…We have to make them pay for that.”
Garrett: “As a player, coach, football team – it’s all about respect. You want to be a respected player by the opponent. And Aaron Rodgers after that game (15-9 Detroit win on Nov. 6) said ‘that team’ quote. That’s disrespectful. Not that you need added motivation when you’re playing a division rival, but they have it and Dan Campbell’s going to use it.”
ON COWBOYS
Simms on Dak Prescott’s play including throwing a pick-six: “Dak Prescott’s too awesome to make a decision or a throw like that. A little concerning with how that Dallas Cowboys offense looked today.”
Garrett: “I don’t think they’re a great team on the road on grass. I feel like their defense, their front, that is so dominant at home on that turf, fast surface. I feel like they slow down (away from home). It will be interesting to see how they play next week at Tampa. I still think they’re a better team. It will be a good challenge.”
Dungy: “I’m concerned about this offense…They were playing for the No. 1 seed, playing against a team that is out of it starting a rookie quarterback and they didn’t do anything.”
ON 49ERS
Dungy: “There’s another (compelling) story in San Francisco. Your starting quarterback (Trey Lance) goes down, Jimmy Garoppolo takes over, he goes down, and now you’ve got Brock Purdy, the last player drafted, who’s playing great football to go along with that defense. Watch out for San Francisco.”
Garrett on the team winning five straight games with Brock Purdy starting: “It’s been seamless. This is a rookie quarterback, the last player drafted. It’s hard to do. It’s hard to play quarterback in the NFL as a rookie. They’ve been seamless, they’ve been fantastic.”
Dungy: “He’s doing it well. No turnovers. He’s been playing great.”
ON DOLPHINS
Garrett on Miami’s approach ahead of their Wild Card Weekend matchup vs. Buffalo: “They have to attack different ways. They became reliant on those two receivers (Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle) and Tua (Tagovailoa) throwing the ball down the field. They have to get the run game back first, and the RPO game back. They do have some confidence playing against Buffalo, you feel good about that heading into this game.”
ON PANTHERS
Simms: “Way to go Steve Wilks. Are you kidding me? The job he did taking over for Matt Rhule — phenomenal. Way to go.”
NEWS FROM MIKE FLORIO
MIKE FLORIO ON SEAN PAYTON AND JIM HARBAUGH COACHING SITUATIONS
MIKE FLORIO ON SEAN MCVAY’S COACHING STATUS
MIKE FLORIO ON INJURY STATUS OF TUA TAGOVAILOA AND LAMAR JACKSON
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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 —
