“(Derrick) Henry is now the most compelling single figure in the final four of the 2019 season. Weren’t we entering an era of interchangeable running backs, backs that couldn’t and shouldn’t dominate games? Nobody told Henry.” – King on Derrick Henry

“The 49ers have built the best defensive front in football…What the Niners have done with the line shows how every team can turn around the franchise.” – King

“Knowing that at 36 he doesn’t know how many January chances he’ll get, Rodgers won his first playoff game in three years with the kind of deft touch passes that will land him Canton on a first ballot one day.” – King on Aaron Rodgers

“Cleveland’s a dumpster fire…I’m talking strictly football here. I don’t know what…you would hire Kevin Stefanski for.” – Chris Simms on the Browns

STAMFORD, Conn. – Jan. 13, 2020 – Peter King speaks with Tennessee running back Derrick Henry and Green Bay first-year head coach Matt LaFleur in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also recaps Divisional weekend, looks ahead to the Conference Championship matchups, hands out his awards from the weekend, and discusses the Rooney Rule. King also outlines the 40 hours that led to the Giants hiring Joe Judge and the Panthers hiring Matt Rhule.

Additionally, across NBC Sports, Mike Tirico, Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, Chris Simms, and Mike Florio recap Divisional weekend, while Florio and Simms break down all of the action across the NFL on PFT Live and Chris Simms Unbuttoned.

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

GREEN BAY PACKERS

King: “I came to Green Bay wondering about (Aaron) Rodgers. (Stupidly, as it turns out.)…But the Packers were back. They were NFC North champs. So the numbers, well, who cares about the numbers when you’re 13-3.”

King on Packers head coach Matt LaFleur: “Rodgers and his revival were vital this weekend. But he’s got a good partner too. LaFleur’s done a good job this year massaging some plays so they look new to a defense.”

LaFleur to King on Rodgers’ first TD of the game to WR Davante Adams: “That play is not one we’ve used. We just added it a week or so ago, to be truthful. It made sense. When you put so much of a similar play on tape for opponents to see, and you decide to change it a little bit, you hope you can catch the defense. That’s what you have to do in offensive football today.”

King on LaFleur: “That’s the kind of play that Rodgers has to see and say, I’m dealing with a guy who’s got next-level knowledge of offense, just like I do.”

King on Packers’ third-and-eight conversion with 2:19 left in the game: “So this was a third-and-eight Rodgers needed to convert if the Packers wanted to win their first playoff game in three years. And of course Rodgers changed the play.”

LaFleur on Rodgers changing the play: “I can’t wait to go back and watch the tape of that play. I wasn’t anticipating it. But you know Aaron. He’s been doing this a long time. He knows.”

King: “I don’t know if the Packers have it in them to go to San Francisco and win Sunday, but I think they’ll be more competitive than they were in November’s 37-8 loss to the Niners. The blossoming LaFleur-Rodgers partnership should see to that.”

DIVISIONAL WEEKEND

King on Derrick Henry: “(Derrick) Henry is now the most compelling single figure in the final four of the 2019 season. Weren’t we entering an era of interchangeable running backs, backs that couldn’t and shouldn’t dominate games? Nobody told Henry.”

King on Henry’s humbleness: “Henry is almost disdainful of his accomplishments. Every time he’s asked about these unprecedented achievements, he’ll stage a diversion. I got to him 75 minutes after Saturday night’s game, and his response was almost diffident.”

Henry to King: “Man, I don’t care. Stats…We won. We won. We advanced. That’s what I care about.”

King: “Not many players in football, at any position, can be unstoppable when you know exactly what’s coming. But in the last three weeks, Houston, New England and Baltimore, all playing at home, have been powerless to stop Henry.”

Henry to King: “For the good of the team, I’m happy. Individual goals are a little selfish to me. My goal is to win for this team. We’re advancing. That’s what matters to me.”

King on the Ravens: “Regarding the Ravens, who played stale and unsteady in a surprisingly poor performance, there are questions about John Harbaugh resting seven veterans for the meaningless Week 17 games.”

King: “If I were GM Eric DeCosta and Harbaugh, I’d assign one of the young mathematical logicians to study whether it is indeed unanswerable, or is there some knowledge to be gained by studying teams that rested guys and those that played Week 17 as normal.”

Chiefs Safety Tyrann Mathieu to King: “Our coordinator, coach (Steve) Spagnuolo, told us something when it looked bad that was really helpful: ‘Don’t dwell on bad plays. Don’t dwell on good plays. Dwell on the next play.’ Plus, we got Patrick.”

Mathieu on facing the Titans: “It’s smashmouth, old-time, classic football. We gotta tackle Derrick Henry. That’s it. You get a chance, you gotta tackle him…My mindset is, and all my guys will know it, there’s no next week. We gotta tackle Derrick Henry”

King on San Francisco’s defense: “Six sacks by San Francisco defensive linemen Saturday, in a game that felt like the Vikings were never in…The 49ers have built the best defensive front in football.”

King on San Francisco’s defensive line: “What the Niners have done with the line shows how every team can turn around the franchise, assuming it drafts consistently well.”

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

King on Titans-Chiefs: “I absolutely think the Titans have a chance, but all they have to do is watch tape of Kansas City falling behind by 24 against Houston to see how fast the Chiefs changed the game. Tennessee can’t afford many mistakes Sunday at Arrowhead.”

King on the Titans & Derrick Henry: “It’s amazing that, here we are, forecasting the conference title games, and the biggest issue revolves around whether anyone in football can stop the running back on the team that entered the postseason thought to be 12th out of 12 playoff teams.”

King on Packers-49ers: “The way I saw the San Francisco front Saturday, Green Bay will have to use an extra blocker often, make sure Rodgers gets rid of it quickly, and play its best game of the year, by far, to score enough to win.”

KING’S DIVISIONAL AWARDS

Offensive Players of the Week: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay, Travis Kelce, Kansas City, & Derrick Henry, Tennessee.

King on Rodgers: “Knowing that at 36 he doesn’t know how many January chances he’ll get, Rodgers won his first playoff game in three years with the kind of deft touch passes that will land him Canton on a first ballot one day.”

Defensive Players of the Week: Richard Sherman, San Francisco, Jurrell Casey, Tennessee, & Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith, Green Bay.

King on Sherman: “Big players make big plays in big games…For the game, (Kirk) Cousins targeted Sherman just three times, with one completion (for nine yards) and the one pick. That’s what I call a shut-down corner.”

ROONEY RULE

King: “Having known Dan Rooney well before he died in 2017, I can say without hesitation that he would be ashamed of what’s happened to the well-intentioned 17-year-old Rooney Rule…The rule is a mockery of a sham.”

Giants owner John Mara to King: “We’re obviously using the Rooney Rule for the head coaching candidates, but I think we may have to use the rule for the feeder positions…I can tell you: This is a real concern of the commissioner and the league”

King’s recommendations to fix the rule:

• • Increase the mandated minority-candidate interviews from one to two, and make owners meet each minority candidate;
  • Mandate that one of the three pipeline positions on every new coaching staff be a minority;
  • Expand the Rooney Rule to coordinator positions;
  • Make January a dark period for coaching interviews and hires;
  • Ramp up (with NFL funding) program for developing minority coaches.

Click here to watch Tony Dungy’s thoughts on how to fix the Rooney Rule from Saturday’s pre-game show.

Read the rest of the FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.

 

The following are clips from Saturday’s special edition of Football Night in America:

• • Vikings-49ers Recap: The FNIA crew recaps San Francisco’s win over the Vikings.
  • George Kittle Feature: 49ers tight end George Kittle and his family reflect on the All-Pro’s childhood, detail the role family plays in his life and explain the importance of the inspirational letters his dad writes him before every game.
  • Mike Tirico & the Shanahans: Tirico sits down with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan‘s parents, Mike and Peggy Shanahan, to discuss Mike’s former coaching career, the 49ers and how their son grew into the coach he is today.
  • Tony Dungy & Kirk Cousins: Dungy interviews Kirk Cousins about dealing with critics, the impact of his first playoff win, and the origins of ‘You like that?!’

 

The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage heading into Championship Sunday:

• • Mike Florio and Chris Simms, with guest Peter King, discuss all things NFL on PFT Live, including Divisional Weekend recaps and Conference Championship previews.
  • On Chris Simms Unbuttoned, Simms breaks down the Divisional games and power ranks the craziness of the Texans-Chiefs game.

 

CHRIS SIMMS ON THE BROWNS HIRING KEVIN STEFANSKI

Simms: “Cleveland’s a dumpster fire, that’s all I can really say…This is nothing personal…I don’t know (Kevin Stefanski). I’m sure he’s a really fine guy. I know some of the human beings in Cleveland, they’re good human beings…I’m talking strictly football here. I don’t know what the hell you would hire Kevin Stefanski for. I’m sorry, I don’t know. Mike Zimmer is telling you not to hire him. Have you listened the quotes he said the last eight weeks of the year? He’s telling you (Gary) Kubiak is the greatest thing that’s happened since he’s been there. Everything he praises is Gary Kubiak. But Stefanski is going to get a head coaching job? What the hell is Cleveland doing? I don’t know. I just don’t get it. We’ve watched the offense – there’s issues in Minnesota. If they can’t run the ball, it’s the most basic offense we’ve seen. So what are you really getting here?”

A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 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 NBCSN’s and NBC Sports Radio’s PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.

—NBC SPORTS—

“I’ll explore those opportunities whenever they are. If it’s the Patriots, great. If that doesn’t work, I don’t know. I just don’t know. I love playing football. I still want to play football.” – Brady to King on his Upcoming Free Agency

“Before the season started, it was very important to Tom that he be free to do whatever he wanted at the end of the year. You know what I said to myself? That any person who plays 20 years for this team and helps us get to six Super Bowls, and been really selfless, has earned that right.” – Robert Kraft to King on Tom Brady

“(Deshaun) Watson showed why he’s a legitimate franchise quarterback at the most crucial point of Houston’s up-and-down season.” – King on Deshaun Watson’s Play in Houston’s Win over Buffalo

“Beating Drew Brees in the Superdome is the kind of game that can catapult a quarterback to the next level.” – King on Kirk Cousins

“That was the hire that made the most sense for me for the Dallas Cowboys. They’re in the Super Bowl window right now. They need a guy there that can push them over the top.” – Chris Simms on the Cowboys Hiring of Mike McCarthy

STAMFORD, Conn. – Jan. 6, 2020 – Peter King speaks with New England quarterback Tom Brady and owner Robert Kraft in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also recaps this weekend’s Wild Card games, looks ahead to the Divisional Playoffs, and hands out his awards from the weekend.

Additionally, across NBC Sports, on The Mike Tirico Podcast, Mike Tirico, Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison and Mike Florio recap Wild Card weekend, while Florio and Chris Simms break down all of the action across the NFL on PFT Live and Chris Simms Unbuttoned.

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

TOM BRADY & THE PATRIOTS

Note: King spent 10 minutes with Brady in an office near the Patriots’ locker room near midnight on Saturday night, less than an hour after the game had ended.

King: “The interesting takeaway from spending 10 minutes with Tom Brady before he left Gillette Stadium near midnight Saturday? He didn’t seem at all surprised by the 20-13 wild-card loss to Tennessee. He was sad but not distraught…I kept thinking as he spoke: Tom Brady could see this coming.”

Brady on Wild Card loss to the Titans: “I’m not crushingly disappointed. I think we fought hard. Our head is held high. We’re competitors. Every season doesn’t end in a Super Bowl win. It’s exciting when it does. You relish those when you have those opportunities and we’ve had them more than anyone else.”

Brady on his upcoming free agency: “I’ll explore those opportunities whenever they are. If it’s the Patriots, great. If that doesn’t work, I don’t know. I just don’t know. I love playing football. I still want to play football.”

Patriots owner Robert Kraft on Brady: “Before the season started, it was very important to Tom that he be free to do whatever he wanted at the end of the year. You know what I said to myself? That any person who plays 20 years for this team and helps us get to six Super Bowls, and been really selfless, has earned that right.”

Brady: “The sun’s coming up tomorrow. Especially as I’ve gotten older, you realize that life goes on. I’ve been so fortunate to play for such a great owner and for such a great coach. Nobody could have had it better than me. I absolutely still do love this game…I think a lot of other people who are great at what they do – great artists or great actors or great businessmen – they don’t have to stop what they love as they get older. I know there’s football still in here.”

Kraft on Brady: “My hope and prayer is number one, he play for the Patriots. Or number two, he retires. He has the freedom to decide what he wants to do and what’s in his own best personal interest.”

King on where Brady could potentially go in free agency: “My personal darkhorse, by the way: the Las Vegas (nee Oakland) Raiders. Jon Gruden’s favorite quarterback is always the one he doesn’t have. No clue if he’s remotely interested, but my antennae would be up for the Raiders and Brady.”

WILD CARD WEEKEND

King on Deshaun Watson: “Harassed for most of the game’s 72 minutes, Watson showed why he’s a legitimate franchise quarterback at the most crucial point of Houston’s up-and-down season.”

Watson on his Clemson coach Dabo Swinney: “You’ve got to have the will and the guts to go out and do what you’ve got to do to win…Dabo always used to tell us, ‘Don’t never look at the scoreboard. At the end of the day, you’re going to look up at the scoreboard, and you’ll be where you want to be.’”

King on Derrick Henry: “The last two NFL generations had 235-pound Earl Campbell (1978-’85) and 253-pound Jerome Bettis (1993-2005) as the big backs who lasted and punished defense after defense. This generation has the 247-pound (Derrick) Henry.”

King on Kirk Cousins: “(Kirk) Cousins had been maligned since his Washington days for never winning The Big One…But he threw one of the prettiest passes of his life, a perfect 43-yard rainbow to Adam Thielen, to set up the winning touchdown in overtime. And then he hit Kyle Rudolph in the left corner of the end zone to win it.”

King on Rudolph’s game-winning touchdown in overtime: “I think that was offensive pass interference on Kyle Rudolph on the winning play in New Orleans. The interpretation of the rule is simple: If either the receiver or the defender gains an advantage by pushing off the other player, a flag should be thrown.”

King on Cousins: “Who knows if this is the start of Cousins taking his place in the modern pantheon with the really good quarterbacks? It’s always seemed like only the mental part of the game stands in his way, and beating Drew Brees in the Superdome is the kind of game that can catapult a quarterback to the next level.”

King on Carson Wentz’ injury: “I think that hit on Carson Wentz didn’t look like a cheap shot to me. As a runner who didn’t give himself up, Wentz was eligible to be hit hard on a tackle. Jadeveon Clowney said it was a bang-bang play, and that’s how it looked to me – with incidental helmet contact.”

King on Josh Allen: “I think if I was a Bills’ fan I’d be really happy he’s my long-term quarterback. Not Mahomes happy, but happy.”

DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF PREVIEW

King on the best players remaining in the playoffs: “To me, there are three borderline unstoppable forces in the eight-team field:

• • Patrick Mahomes, the defending MVP, totally healthy and rested after a midseason kneecap injury;
  • Lamar Jackson, the most versatile quarterback in the game;
  • Derrick Henry, the Tennessee running back who wrecked the Patriots on Saturday night.”

 

King on Vikings-49ers: “Here’s what the Vikings gained other than a win in Minnesota: On offense, they probably can trust Kirk Cousins in a big spot more, and they certainly know that putting the ball in the hands of Dalvin Cook (94 rushing yards, two touchdowns) is a win for them.”

King on Titans-Ravens: “I bet if you gave Baltimore coach John Harbaugh truth serum, he’d say he’d have rather faced the Patriots in the divisional round.”

King on Titans-Ravens: “The biggest X-factor, other than handling Henry, might be how Baltimore responds after several key guys have had 19 days between games.”

King on Texans-Chiefs: “If the Texans get a slow start on offense as they did Saturday against Buffalo, they’ll be too far out of it too early to make it a game.”

King on Seahawks-Packers: “The Green Bay offense, 15th in the NFL in scoring, will probably have to be better than 23 points a game to make it to the Super Bowl in Miami.”

KING’S WILD CARD AWARDS

Offensive Players of the Week: Deshaun Watson, Houston, Derrick Henry, Tennessee, & Kirk Cousins, Minnesota.

King on Watson: “He willed the Texans to victory. That’s not cliché, no exaggeration.”

King on Henry: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game, never mind a playoff game, that had one non-quarterback gain 75 percent of the yardage. But Henry (204 total yards of Tennessee’s 272 total yards) did just that. He’ll be a problem for Baltimore.”

Defensive Players of the Week: Jadeveon Clowney, Seattle, Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia & Danielle Hunter, Minnesota.

King on Hunter: “At 26, he’s become one of the most feared rushers in football…He’ll be invaluable Saturday in the Vikings’ attempt to slow the nascent San Francisco passing game.”

Coach of the Week: Mike Vrabel, Tennessee.

King: “Came into the lair of his mentor and quite possibly ended the Tom Brady Era by forcing the crummiest offensive performance of this great Patriots run.”

Read the rest of the FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.

 

The following are highlights from this week’s edition of The Mike Tirico Podcast:

THE MIKE TIRICO PODCAST

Mike Florio on the Saints’ QB situation: “You just have to wonder whether or not Sean Payton may be thinking now’s the time to move forward with a different quarterback. He’s compared Taysom Hill to Steve Young. That is high praise and if that’s what he believes, at some point you have to pull the trigger on Taysom Hill.”

Rodney Harrison on the future of veteran QBs: “The league has changed, so what’s next is it’s time for those older quarterbacks to move…Now you have athletic quarterbacks. Just imagine, I would prefer to go up against say, a Tom Brady, as opposed to try to prepare to play against Taysom Hill right now.”

Tony Dungy on the Texans: “They’re almost like Seattle. Really don’t have a lot going, our defense isn’t great…But in that moment when you need a play, we’ve got a guy (Deshaun Watson) who can make a play when everything goes bad.”

 

The following are clips from last night’s edition of Football Night in America:

• • Tom Brady’s Future: The FNIA crew debates Tom Brady‘s free agency options after the Patriots’ early exit from the playoffs.
  • Tony Dungy on Kyle Rudolph’s TD: Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison explain why Kyle Rudolph should’ve been flagged for pass interference on the Vikings’ game-winning touchdown against the Saints in overtime.
  • Vikings-49ers Preview: Mike Tirico, Rodney Harrison and Tony Dungy preview the Vikings-49ers Divisional Playoffs matchup next Saturday on NBC.

 

The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage heading into Week 16:

• • Mike Florio and Chris Simms, with guest Peter King, discuss all things NFL on PFT Live, including handing out their Wild Card Weekend superlatives, discussing Tom Brady’s and Drew Brees; futures and Jason Garrett’s firing.
  • On Chris Simms Unbuttoned, Simms breaks down the Wild Card games reviews the Divisional round and power ranks potential destinations for Tom Brady.

 

CHRIS SIMMS ON COWBOYS HIRING MIKE MCCARTHY

Simms: “That was the hire that made the most sense for me for the Dallas Cowboys. They’re in the Super Bowl window right now. They need a guy there that can push them over the top. They didn’t need some college coach to try to figure out how they want to coach in the NFL with a team that’s ready now.”

Simms: “My only issue with him in Green Bay was that his offense got stale. Sometimes that happens. Andy Reid got a little stale in Philadelphia. Well, he’s in Kansas City doing pretty good right now. So I like it.”

 

A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 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 NBCSN’s and NBC Sports Radio’s PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.

—NBC SPORTS—