“I love their coach, I love their team, I love their quarterback. Their grit was demonstrated today.” – Jason Garrett on the Detroit Lions
“League MVP is a possibility. I asked him about it, and he said, ‘Look, I’m just trying to win a Super Bowl, and everything else would be a cherry on top.’” – Mike Florio on speaking to Browns DE Myles Garrett
“He’s rewired the robot. We’re seeing the guy we saw back in Seattle that’s confident, running an offense, and making some splash plays every game.” – Chris Simms on Broncos head coach Sean Payton’s influence on Russell Wilson
“That’s good defense right there! ‘All gas, no brakes.’ Get down, man!” – Devin McCourty on Jets head coach Robert Saleh accidentally tackling QB Zach Wilson
Peacock Sunday Night Football Final Streams EXCLUSIVELY on Peacock Following Vikings-Broncos and Every Sunday Night Football Game During 2023 Season
STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 19, 2023 – NBC Sports’ presentation of Week 11 of the 2023 NFL season began tonight from Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Vikings-Broncos 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 Jac Collinsworth and 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.
Pre-game coverage included Michael Smith’s interview with Vikings QB Joshua Dobbs in the latest edition of “Gets It.”
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Following are highlights from tonight’s edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:
ON VIKINGS
Simms on the Vikings’ offense with QB Joshua Dobbs: “(Head coach) Kevin O’Connell is an unbelievable game planner in helping out Dobbs as far as they have quarterback-friendly plays…They don’t waste plays. They run plays into defensive looks they want.”
Harrison on Dobbs: “The fact that he can go to different NFL locker rooms and not only feel comfortable, but the players accept him, I think it speaks to the type of person he is. They told me, ‘When we lost Kirk Cousins, we felt our season was over. (Dobbs) came in and made it about the team so we believe.’”
Garrett on the Vikings’ defense: “They never let the quarterback or play-caller get in a rhythm or feel comfortable when they break from the huddle, and that’s why Brian Flores has done a great job so far.”
Harrison on Flores’ gameplan against opposing quarterbacks: “He doesn’t care if you’re a rookie or a vet. He’s coming at you.”
ON BRONCOS
Simms on Sean Payton’s influence on Russell Wilson: “He’s rewired the robot. We’re seeing the guy we saw back in Seattle that’s confident, running an offense, and making some splash plays every game.”
Garrett on how Payton coaches quarterbacks: “The best thing he does for quarterbacks is he makes the game simple for you…6-7 times a game he’s going to ask Russ to cook.”
Harrison on Denver’s defense: “The biggest difference for me is the effort. Players are flying around, congratulating each other, forcing turnovers - they’re having fun playing defense and that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
Dungy on CB Patrick Surtain II: “If you were going to draw up a cornerback: tall, strong, fast, great ball skills, and all his teammates say a tremendous leader.”
ON BROWNS
Simms on the Browns’ defense in their win over the Steelers: “They are the best. They out-Steelered the Steelers, defense controlled the ball. It’s all led by that guy Myles Garrett…the best defensive player in football.”
Simms on the Browns’ postseason chances: “I’m not going to pick them to win the division, but I’m not taking the Browns out of the playoff conversation. Best defense in football, one of the best running teams in football, really good screen game, so they have some quarterback-friendly things to survive with a rookie quarterback (Dorian Thompson-Robinson).”
Florio on Myles Garrett: “League MVP is a possibility for Garrett. There hasn’t been one on the defensive side of the ball since Lawrence Taylor in 1986. I asked him about it, and he said, ‘Look, I’m just trying to win a Super Bowl, and everything else would just be a cherry on top.’”
ON LIONS
Garrett on Detroit’s win over Chicago: “You go to Detroit and you watch them in training camp, everyone is walking around in ‘Grit’ t-shirts…I love their coach, I love their team, I love their quarterback. Their grit was demonstrated today.”
ON BEARS
Simms on QB Justin Fields: “He looked really good coming back from injury. Threw the ball well. I think a lot of people think they were going to move on from Justin Fields after this year, I think he’s going to make them think twice about this.”
ON CHARGERS
Garrett on the Chargers’ narrow loss to the Packers: “This is the story of the Chargers this year: missed opportunity late in the game…Everybody in that organization is squeezing the club too tight, white knuckling everything and it’s showing up in their execution time and time again in these big moments.”
McCourty on the Chargers: “In New England we had a saying: ‘You can’t win unless you stop losing.’ If you watch this Chargers team, they haven’t found a way to stop making losing-type plays…You cannot have a successful winning football team if you don’t make the easy plays.”
ON BILLS
Garrett on the Bills’ first game with new OC Joe Brady, a win over the Jets: “I like how they took pressure off of Josh Allen. They got the running backs involved in the passing game. He didn’t feel like he had to do everything…running backs are your best friend (as a quarterback).”
ON JETS
McCourty on head coach Robert Saleh accidentally tackling QB Zach Wilson: “What do you mean it’s not going well? That’s good defense right there! ‘All gas, no brakes.’ Get down, man!”
ON DOLPHINS
McCourty on the Dolphins’ defense: “Jalen Ramsey’s return lifted this Miami defense. He made plays all over the field today…Mike McDaniel said he’s one of the best players he’s ever coached.”
ON GIANTS
Simms on QB Tommy DeVito and the Giants’ win over the Commanders: “He had a great game today, made some great plays. There was a nice gameplan put together by (Brian) Daboll.”
Florio on the broken showers at FedExField: “After the game the showers were not working for both teams and DeVito said he was trying to wash in the sink, guys were trying to use water bottles. I told him he could take a nice hot shower when he gets back to mom’s house.”
Simms: “That’s going to be a smelly plane ride home.”
ON TEXANS
Taylor on the success of C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson, Jr., Houston’s top two draft picks from 2023: “If you’re in the Texans’ front office, are you not patting yourself on the back right now?”
Simms on rookies Stroud and WR Tank Dell: “This is one of the hottest combos in football right now…every week I feel like we’re talking about them.”
ON 49ERS
Simms on the 49ers after beating the Buccaneers: “The 49ers got everybody healthy, a ton of answers, and when you couple that with (head coach Kyle) Shanahan’s creativity, it’s almost impossible to stop that offense. It’s ‘who do you stop?’ – they’ve got a lot of good players there in San Francisco.”
DOBBS INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL SMITH
Dobbs to Michael Smith on the correlation between being a 4.0 student and NFL quarterback: “I think I closed down the library almost every day of my college career. Those habits of being able to take the information, decipher it, retain it, and then act on it. The process of preparation is extremely related.”
Dobbs to Smith on his preparation routine: “For me, I probably play the game in my head 10 times before it even gets to gameday so there’s no doubt in my mind that I know what I need to do.”
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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 --