“The man, the myth, the legend. This guy is unreal. I’ve never seen anything like him. He’s the roadrunner on a football field.” – Chris Simms on Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill
“Brock Purdy is human. He lost his star running back and one of his best receivers (to injury) all in one game. That’s not normal.” – Devin McCourty
“The Lions are a legit Super Bowl contender. I can’t believe I’m saying that.” – Chris Simms
Peacock Sunday Night Football Final Streams EXCLUSIVELY on Peacock Following Giants-Bills and Every Sunday Night Football Game During 2023 Season
STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 15, 2023 – NBC Sports’ presentation of Week 6 of the 2023 NFL season began tonight from Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Giants-Bills 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, NFL Insider Mike Florio and fantasy sports industry pioneer Matthew Berry. Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy and two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison joined co-host Kathryn Tappen 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.
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Following are highlights from tonight’s edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:
ON BILLS
Dungy: “When the ball is in the air in the passing game, they are dominating…but when it’s tough in the trenches, running the ball and stopping the run, Buffalo hasn’t been great…when you have Josh Allen, it’s easy to just say, ‘We can throw the ball any time we want.’ But if the Bills want to win the Super Bowl, they have got to get that run game going and they have to be consistent with it. If I’m (head coach) Sean McDermott, that’s my focus tonight, getting that run game on track.”
Garrett: “I like how aggressive Buffalo is playing defense this year. They’re coming after the quarterback and they’re contesting all of the short throws. They’re going to make Tyrod Taylor earn it tonight.”
McCourty on defending QB Josh Allen: “As dangerous as he is – and we talk about not letting him escape – you want to keep him in the pocket. He can still beat you from the pocket, but if he starts being able to move around, maybe run, maybe find Gabe Davis or Stefon Diggs down the field you have no chance. Trust me, I’ve been on the ‘no chance’ side and you don’t want to be there.”
ON GIANTS
McCourty on QB Tyrod Taylor: “Back in his Buffalo days, we would go play them twice a year. I used to tell him after every game, ‘You’re the real-life Willie Beamen from Any Given Sunday.’ They’d throw some quick slants, but when that would break down, he was shakin’, bakin’, and makin’ it happen. He’s probably going to have to do a lot of that tonight with this Giants offensive line.”
Dungy on head coach Brian Daboll: “I think Brian Daboll definitely has the (coaching) edge…he knows all these Buffalo offensive players, their tendencies, and he also coached against this defense for four years. He knows how to attack them.”
ON DOLPHINS
Simms on WR Tyreek Hill: “The man, the myth, the legend. This guy is unreal. I’ve never seen anything like him. He’s the roadrunner on a football field. He’s the best weapon in the NFL right now. When he’s one-on-one, forget about it.”
Garrett on Hill’s selfie and flip after scoring a TD: “I pride myself on being the king of the selfie. I am a cheap imitation. Tyreek, you’re officially the king of the selfie.”
ON PATRIOTS
Simms: “This is the new-age Patriots doing something that you never think you’d see the Patriots do – taking a sack and a safety and they lose 21-17…there are a lot of issues with the Patriots. I don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t mean to be disrespectful to Bill Belichick, but the offense isn’t good, a lot of self-inflicted penalties and then some dumb turnovers. I’ve never seen that from the Patriots.”
Garrett: “Relative to what? The last couple of weeks against Dallas and the Saints were disasters, so this was a marked improvement…but it’s hard to recognize this team and this franchise. Uncharacteristic mistakes, they don’t know how to win games late and that was their trademark for a number of years.”
ON BROWNS
Garrett: “The guys on the defensive line for Cleveland were owning the line of scrimmage. It impacted everything that San Francisco was trying to do.”
McCourty: “We get all of these offenses that produce, and you know that (defensive coordinator) Jim Schwartz was sitting there saying, ‘we’re going to do this, we’re going to do that,’ and they were excited. You could tell that Cleveland was excited to get out there and get a chance to shut down this San Francisco offense.”
ON 49ERS
Garrett on QB Brock Purdy: “He certainly came down to earth today. Struggled with the conditions, a lot of balls were slipping out of his hands, he wasn’t accurate…he just didn’t play as we’ve seen him play to this point.”
McCourty: “Purdy is human. He lost his star running back and one of his best receivers (to injury) all in one game. That’s not normal and there are not many quarterbacks that could produce at a high level when that happens. I think this will be good for Purdy, come back down to earth and let’s see how he rebounds.”
Simms: “Some people were comparing him to Tom Brady earlier this week. Let’s not go there yet.”
ON JETS
McCourty: “The most-impressive look of the day was the Jets defense...the Jets’ pass rush, we wondered if they could rush Jalen Hurts and get that banged-up secondary some time to cover these receivers...really uncharacteristic of Hurts today with three interceptions.”
Garrett: “We spent a day with (head coach) Robert Saleh and the Jets during training camp. I sat in his office and he said, ‘The first six games is a tough stretch. If we come out of this thing 3-3…’ and remember, this was when Aaron Rodgers was his quarterback…for the Jets after this stretch to be 3-3, they’re in a great position.”
ON EAGLES
Garrett: “People will point to the turnovers, but the issue was that the Jets’ defense stopped the Eagles from running the football. They ran for 80 yards and Jalen Hurts throws the ball 45 times. We’ve been watching these Eagles the last couple of years and it’s about balance…they didn’t do that today.”
ON LIONS
Simms on the Lions’ defense: “You can’t run against the big people they got up front. They’ve got size, they’ve got speed at linebacker, and they’re well coached…they can rush the passer and swarm the quarterback…it’s a complete transformation from what we saw last year. The Lions are a legit Super Bowl contender. I can’t believe I’m saying that.”
ON JAGUARS
Simms on Jacksonville: “They were all over Gardner Minshew III. He comes back for a homecoming, it wasn’t that nice, it wasn’t a welcoming party. Three interceptions and a strip sack fumble. Jacksonville playing great team football…the Jaguars are a complete football team, they’ve got one of the best secondaries in the NFL as well.”
Garrett: “It’s a little bit like last year. They struggled early, they get a big win, they get some confidence…they’re a balanced team.”
ON BENGALS
Garrett: “The story of this game was the Bengals defense. They pressured Geno Smith time and time again. They were outstanding in the red zone… they were really good rushing him, really good covering him down in the red zone. Seattle was just 1-for-5 in the red zone.”
ON RAMS
Simms: “In the second half, the Rams got a run game going for the first time all year…the run game took over, an efficient game by Matthew Stafford…you get a run game going and this Rams team is going to be a pain.”
ON FALCONS
Simms: “The Falcons messed it up as a football team today. They let up a big punt return, got stopped on 4th-and-1 around midfield, but it is 2023 and you do have to have a passing game. They’ve got a top-10 rushing offense and a top-10 defense. Last week, we said, ‘Hey, (Desmond Ridder) saved his job.’ Now, we’re not so sure.”
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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 --