FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 9th, 2023

PETER KING SPEAKS WITH BROCK PURDY AND KYLE SHANAHAN PLUS WEEK 5 NFL POWER RANKINGS IN THIS WEEK’S “FMIA” COLUMN

“In 17 months, he’s gone from being the last pick in the NFL draft to a frontrunner for MVP.” – Peter King on 49ers QB Brock Purdy

“I am so glad America got to see this. Glad Brock got to have a four-touchdown performance on national TV. He deserves more respect than he’s gotten.” – 49ers FB Kyle Juszczyk on Purdy’s performance against the Cowboys

“You know what they say about Mike Tomlin and losing seasons: oxymoron.” – King on the Steelers

 STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 9, 2023 – Peter King speaks with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and head coach Kyle Shanahan, following the team’s 42-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also lists his Week 5 NFL power rankings and discusses the Eagles’ success, the Patriots’ woes, and more.

For more NFL coverage, Peacock offers daily programming on the NBC Sports channel for free, including Pro Football Talk at 7 a.m. ET, The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry at Noon ET, Brother from Another at 3 p.m. ET, plus Chris Simms Unbuttoned on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and the weekly The Peter King Podcast. To learn more about the NBC Sports on Peacock channel and how to sign up, click here.

The NFL on NBC YouTube channel offers daily football content for free, with exclusive videos from Peter King, Mike Florio, Chris Simms, and more. To access all these videos and more, click here to subscribe.

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

KING’S WEEK 5 POWER RANKINGS

1. San Francisco 17. Tennessee
2. Philadelphia 18. Cincinnati
3. Miami 19. Atlanta
4. Kansas City 20. Los Angeles Chargers
5. Detroit 21. Cleveland
6. Dallas 22. Minnesota
7. Buffalo 23. Green Bay
8. Baltimore 24. Washington
9. Seattle 25. Arizona
10. Tampa Bay 26. New York Jets
11. Jacksonville 27. New England
12. New Orleans 28. Las Vegas
13. Los Angeles Rams 29. Denver
14. Indianapolis 30. Chicago
15. Houston 31. New York Giants
16. Pittsburgh 32. Carolina

 

King on the Eagles: “We should start appreciating this team — 19-3 in the regular season since the start of last year — instead of saying, ‘Imagine what happens when they really start clicking on all cylinders.’ Um, averaging 28.2 points, rushing for 4.6 a pop and holding foes to 309 yards a game is sort of okay.”

King on the Lions: “Nothing fluky about the Lions…What I like a lot about Detroit is the defense (293 yards allowed, 3.3 yards per rush allowed), which will keep the Lions in every game.”

King on the Rams: “Sometimes you watch a team and just think it’s better than the record. That’s what I think about the Rams. Feisty and physical, reinvented on the fly.”

King on the Steelers: “You know what they say about Mike Tomlin and losing seasons: oxymoron.”

King on the Patriots: “Belichick weeps. Kraft gnashes teeth. Mac forces throws. Season in the toilet.”

King on the Panthers: “I can’t shake the feeling of how small Bryce Young looks. He can make that go away with a couple of big games, but he hasn’t had one yet.”

49ERS

King on 49ers QB Brock Purdy: “In 17 months, he’s gone from being the last pick in the NFL draft to a frontrunner for MVP.”

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan to King on an incomplete pass from Purdy to WR Brandon Aiyuk in the second quarter of San Francisco’s win over Dallas: “That was like the only play all night I can remember that Brock was off on the whole day.”

Purdy on his 26-yard pass to Aiyuk in the third quarter, following the earlier incompletion: “That first one was on me. I wish I had that one back. But I got another shot at it. We were able to adjust, throw it right over the ’backer and trust that Brandon was going to be there. I just had to do my job.”

Purdy on throwing his four touchdown passes outside the pocket: “They were definitely not by design. But you’re just playing football, and you feel the push, and you go, and you just make the play.”

49ers FB Kyle Juszczyk on Purdy’s performance: “I am so glad America got to see this. Glad Brock got to have a four-touchdown performance on national TV. He deserves more respect than he’s gotten.”

49ers TE George Kittle on Purdy: “Brock’s so consistent every day. He’s a robot.”

Purdy on his mentality: “Every level that I’ve played at growing up it’s like you get to that level and at first you may think it’s a big deal, but then once I start playing it’s like, ‘Man this is just football’ … At the end of the day, man, you’re throwing a football to some guys trying to get open and catch it. And that’s really how I look at it. Try to keep it simple.”

KING’S WEEK 5 AWARDS

Offensive Players of the Week: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati, Zack Moss, Indianapolis, & D.J. Moore, Chicago

King on Moore’s three-touchdown performance in Chicago’s win over Washington: “This is the true number one receiver GM Ryan Poles thought he had when he dealt the top pick to Carolina for a package that included Moore.”

Defensive Players of the Week: Quincy Williams, New York Jets, & Tyrann Mathieu, New Orleans

King on Williams: “His strip-sack of Russell Wilson, coming as the Broncos were driving to tie or win it late, saved the Jets…Nine tackles, two sacks on the day for the less-famous Williams brother.”

Coach of the Week: Dan Campbell, head coach, Detroit

King on Campbell: “This is more a coach of the first month of the season than a coach of the week…the Lions are 12-3 in the last 11 months, much of it because of the groundwork Campbell and GM Brad Holmes have laid with this team.”

Special Teams Player of the Week: Miles Killebrew, Pittsburgh

Goat of the Week: Baltimore receivers

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.
    • 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.

—NBC SPORTS—