“The system and offense are too simple. It’s the second time they’ve put up three points from the ‘Big Play Bengals.’ I’m a little concerned.” – Chris Simms on the Bengals’ offense
“Houston has themselves a quarterback. This guy has been fantastic.” – Jason Garrett on Texans rookie QB C.J. Stroud
“This offense is creative. It’s like the Dolphins in a lot of ways except they try to do it more through the run game than the pass game.” – Simms on the 49ers’ offense
Peacock Sunday Night Football Final Streams EXCLUSIVELY on Peacock Following Dolphins-Patriots and Every Sunday Night Football Game During 2023 Season
STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 1, 2023 – NBC Sports’ presentation of Week 4 of the 2023 NFL season began tonight from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Chiefs-Jets on Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock.
Maria Taylor hosted FNIA from NBC Sports’ Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn. She was joined by former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, three-time Super Bowl Champion Devin McCourty, former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, and NFL Insider Mike Florio. Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison and fantasy sports industry pioneer Matthew Berry joined co-host Jac Collinsworth at the site of the game.
Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Melissa Stark (sideline reporter) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) are calling tonight’s game.
Football Night also included six-time world champion U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles stopping by MetLife Stadium to speak with Harrison, Dungy, and Jac Collinsworth.
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Following are highlights from tonight’s edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:
ON CHIEFS
Simms on Chiefs TE Travis Kelce: “The spotlight should always be on Travis Kelce because that’s where they want to go, as far as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs…They’re pretty good and they have quite the combination going. I don’t know if anybody can stop them.”
McCourty: “When he finds those holes (in the defense), he’s so hard to tackle so that’s where the damage is…Mahomes, Kelce, it’s like a true love story.”
Garrett on how the Chiefs offense can improve: “The other guys got to step up…Patrick Mahomes is 42-5 as a starter for the Chiefs when they rush for 100 yards. Isiah Pacheco is the most important complementary player they have.”
Taylor on Travis Kelce’s new fandom: “Travis Kelce all of a sudden has a lot more fans enchanted with him.”
Dungy on Chiefs DT Chris Jones: “They are a different defense when he’s in the game.”
ON JETS
Harrison on the Jets defense: “I like the Jets and the way (GM Joe Douglas) built this defense because it’s built to maintain or slow down these high-powered offenses. And it all starts on the defensive line with their best player, Quinnen Williams…Also I love their defensive ends because they’re deep, they like to rotate these guys, keep them fresh, keep them healthy.”
Harrison on how he would utilize CB Sauce Gardner vs. the Chiefs: “I know it’s different normally from what Robert Saleh would do, but I’m putting Sauce on Travis Kelce in obvious passing situations…If I’m the defensive coordinator, I’m putting my best against their best.”
Simms on the Jets’ offense with Zach Wilson: “It’s too predictable. They throw (Wilson) in on third-and-nine every time and they’re like, ‘Save us.’ And it’s not fair to him even though I know he’s had his problems as well.”
Harrison on if the Jets should bring in a veteran quarterback: “Absolutely. I look at a guy like Teddy Bridgewater. He’s been a bridge quarterback before. He knows what to do and he can help this team.”
Harrison on the how the Jets offense can improve: “Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett has to be a lot more aggressive in his play-calling. If I’ve got Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard, I’m taking a shot every single time we get the ball.”
Garrett: “I think the biggest thing they have to do is get in run personnel groups and run formations. Create an eight- or nine-man box, single-high, you’ve got Garrett Wilson on the outside and it’s going to be one-on-one. He’s going to know where to go with the ball before it hits his hands.”
ON BILLS
Garrett on the Bills’ offensive performance in their win over the Dolphins: “Allen was a great decision-maker…and how about this guy (Stefon Diggs) with the run after the catch? Three touchdowns today, tied his career best. He’s one of the best in the NFL.”
McCourty on the Bills’ defense: “I thought the middle of the defense was big…they made plays that made it tough for Tua (Tagovailoa) all day.”
ON DOLPHINS
Garrett on the Dolphins’ first loss of the season: “It’s a 17-game season. Miami scored 70 last week and we crowned them, everybody crowned them last week. But lots of ups and downs for the next three months. We’ll see if Miami can rebound. I bet they do.”
ON EAGLES
Simms on the Eagles offense: “A.J. Brown’s going to be happy this week, I can tell you that. The Eagles are so talented, they make you defend so many things. Washington was trying to stop the run, stop the passes over the middle and Jalen Hurts said, ‘I’ve had enough. I’m going to hang onto the ball…I’ll be patient in the pocket and throw a few deep balls down the field.’ And they struck over and over again. A.J. Brown we know one-on-one, that’s a win for the Eagles.”
Garrett: “That’s what the best offenses do, you aggressively take what the defenses give you.”
ON 49ERS
Simms: “(Kyle) Shanahan, (Brock) Purdy, they are riding Christian McCaffrey whether it’s through the run game or the pass game…This offense is creative. It’s like the Dolphins in a lot of ways except they try to do it more through the run game than the pass game.”
ON BENGALS
Simms on the Bengals’ loss to the Titans: “The system and offense are too simple. It’s the second time they’ve put up three points from the ‘Big Play Bengals.’ I’m a little concerned.”
Simms: “They’re not doing enough right now to get the defense back on their heels…They take no shots down the field and then they can’t protect Joe Burrow to actually take some of those deep shots to Ja’Marr Chase and company.”
Garrett: “The whole thing just looked soft at the line of scrimmage. Burrow looked indecisive, the receivers weren’t getting open. Tennessee was the more physical team and Cincy took the brunt of it.”
Florio on Bengals WR Tee Higgins’ injury: “Tee Higgins has a fractured rib and will miss some time.”
ON TITANS
McCourty on the Titans’ win over the Bengals: “Tennessee is at its best when Derrick Henry does everything. You got defensive players on offense, Henry throwing touchdowns…everyone is happy in Nashville right now.”
ON COMMANDERS
Garrett on Commanders QB Sam Howell: “I think they got a quarterback in Washington. Tremendous poise at the end of the ballgame giving the Commanders a chance.”
ON RAMS
Simms on Rams QB Matthew Stafford: “Every week he’s under duress. He is just as tough as they come at the quarterback position. I know all three of us are amazed weekly.”
Garrett: “It’s not only his toughness but then it’s his arm talent. He’s not in great positions and the ball leaps out of his hands.”
Florio on Matthew Stafford’s hip injury: “Stafford does have that hip injury. He said after the game he plans to play next week at home against the Eagles, but that’s probably what he would say whatever the injury was. We’ll have to see whether he can actually do it.”
Florio on WR Puka Nacua: “Nacua told me he takes responsibility for (Stafford’s) injury because on that play, he lined up too far to the outside and it created a gap for the Colts defender to come through, hit Stafford, and cause the injury. But that’s really the only negative for Nacua through the first four weeks…I asked him, ‘When did you know you belonged in the NFL?’ And he said there was a time in training camp, he was having a rough day, and Cooper Kupp came over to him and said, ‘We know what you’re capable of, we’ve seen it. Go out there and keep doing it.’ And he said to hear that from a guy like Kupp, that told him, ‘I believe, I can do this, I belong.’”
ON PATRIOTS
McCourty on the Patriots’ loss to the Cowboys: “Not a good day for Patriots Nation. Too many touchdowns while you’re on offense – for the other team! You can’t win like that.”
Garrett: “They need McCourty back.”
McCourty on Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s reaction to New England losing 38-3: “I’ve seen Bill’s face like that before. That’s not a good meeting on Monday.”
ON STEELERS
Florio on Steelers QB Kenny Pickett’s injury: “You saw the knee injury for Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett. Testing tomorrow. I’m told the team is hopeful it’s a minor MCL sprain but they don’t know yet.”
ON TEXANS
Garrett on QB C.J. Stroud: “Houston has themselves a quarterback. This guy has been fantastic. What a combination he and (wide receiver) Nico Collins have been…This guy is poised, he’s reading coverage, he’s decisive, and this guy can really throw the football.”
ON BEARS
Simms on the Bears’ loss to the Broncos: “It might be as good as we’ve ever seen Justin Fields look. He was tearing this Broncos defense up through the whole first half…but the Bears defense had no answer for the Broncos offense in the second half.”
Garrett on the Bears going for it on 4th-and-1 late in the fourth quarter: “I think in this situation, you kick the field goal, you put the pressure back on the 0-3 team. Make them go down and tie the game or go win the game with a drive. When it’s tied, there’s a different pressure for those guys. They play a little bit more freely and that’s what happened. I think it was a missed opportunity.”
ON VIKINGS
McCourty on the Vikings’ defense in their win over the Panthers: “I texted (Vikings defensive coordinator) Brian Flores after the game and he said, ‘I kept sending Harrison Smith’ because he showed up with two big sacks on the day.”
ON BUCCANEERS
McCourty on Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield: “This is Baker (Mayfield) at his best. Scrambling around with a little bit of freestyle.”
McCourty on Buccaneers S Antoine Winfield Jr.: “He was all over the field for this Tampa Bay defense…he really was one of the best players today.”
ON JAGUARS
Simms on Jacksonville’s win over Atlanta in London: “(Calvin Ridley) got a little payback on his old football team there. Slowly but surely, the Jaguars offense got it going.”
ON BROWNS
Simms on Browns rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s first career start, a loss to the Ravens: “You never want to start your career against the Baltimore Ravens. That’s every quarterback.”
Florio on Browns DE Myles Garrett’s injury: “Myles Garrett has a foot injury and was in a walking boot after the game. They have a bye coming up, he said he expects to be ready to go Week 6 against the 49ers.”
ON CHARGERS
McCourty on QB Justin Herbert injuring his non-throwing hand trying to make a tackle after throwing an interception: “Herbert, get out of the way. We don’t care if you make the tackle or not. We need you healthy.”
McCourty on Asante Samuel Jr.’s game-clinching interception on the goal line: “The Chargers’ defense got blasted the first two weeks, now the last two weeks they’ve saved the day.”
McCourty on Khalil Mack’s six sacks: “Could not be stopped today, trying to take over Derrick Thomas’ seven sack record. Falls a little short with six sacks. Kyle Van Noy, who played with Mack last year, was texting me all game, ‘Khalil Mack is a monster. He’s a monster.’ I’ve got to agree, Kyle. He was a monster today, taking over the game.”
ON FALCONS
Simms: “This is the big issue with Atlanta. We’ve been talking about this the first four weeks -- no passing game, Desmond Ridder still developing and struggling a little bit.”
NOAH LYLES
Noah Lyles on the best part about being the fastest man alive: “It’s to get to say that you’re the fastest man alive. The world can’t touch you now!”
On if winning a Super Bowl is considered a world championship: “What does NFL stand for? … Y’all are national champions. That does not take away from that!”
On how many Olympics he has left: “In L.A. (2028), I’ll be 31. I’ll be 35 at the next one (2032) – I think that’s just right for my last one!”
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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 2023 season. The show is hosted from the game site by Jac Collinsworth, Harrison, and Dungy, who will provide instant reactions to each Sunday game along with highlights and interviews, while Berry will host a weekly segment called “DraftKings Crowning Moments,” where the fantasy sports analyst will discuss his successful bets from that day; he will also provide fantasy advice and an early look at the waiver wire. Football Night in America’s studio team will also provide recaps and insights into the day’s biggest moments, while Florio will provide injury and news updates.
-- Football Night in America --