Monday, Feb. 7

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to our Super Bowl 56 conference call. NBC Sports ‘Super Gold Sunday,’ this Sunday, February 13 begins with Beijing Olympic coverage at 8:00 a.m. eastern. At Noon eastern, the football begins with Road to the Super Bowl, followed at 1:00 p.m. eastern by Super Bowl 56 pregame.

Then the team on this call will work Super Bowl 56 beginning at 6:30 p.m. eastern. We’re joined today by Al Michaels, who on Sunday calls his 11th Super Bowl, tying Pat Summerall for the most ever by a TV play-by-play voice and our analyst is Cris Collinsworth, who calls his fifth Super Bowl, and fourth in the booth with Al. Chris is one of six players who played in both Cincinnati Bengals’ prior Super Bowls following the 1981 and ’88 seasons.

Our sideline reporters are Michele Tafoya, who works her fifth Super Bowl, and Kathryn Tappen, who makes her Super Bowl debut on the game side. Our rules analyst is Terry McAulay, referee for three Super Bowls. Our team is lead by executive producer Fred Gaudelli and director Drew Esocoff, who will work their seventh Super Bowl together.

We’ll begin with comments from the whole team and then we will take your questions. We’ll kick it off with our executive producer, Fred Gaudelli.

FRED GAUDELLI: Thanks, Dan. This will be the fifth Super Bowl for NBC since we acquired the Sunday Night Football package. We’ve had four beauties leading into this, and we’re hoping Sunday will make it a fifth.

Either Al or the LA Chamber of Commerce dialed up a week of weather that is going to be unbelievable out here. Ideal playing conditions on Sunday, so we’re just excited for a great game.

DREW ESOCOFF: I’m just happy to be here for our seventh Super Bowl that Freddie and I are doing together. It’s a great honor. I think we have a great plan. It’s a great venue. It’s an event with tremendous scope and great athleticism. We hope to cover both.

It should be a terrific game. The Rams as the home team and the Bengals have made it — they’ve been clawing their way back ever since Collinsworth retired — and they finally made it. (Laughter)

AL MICHAELS: I can’t remember a time when the NFL has been hotter. These last six playoff games have been so fabulous. It’s a big part of the national conversation, and they know our gang is ready to go.

We’ve worked together for a lot of years. We’ve treated every Sunday night game like a mini–Super Bowl. We’re always overprepared, but then the game starts, and we just fold ourselves into what’s happening on the field.

As Fred mentioned, I live in LA. Supposed to be in the 80s all week, so it’s a home game for me. But I have all the bases covered. Cris and I both have Cincinnati connections. I broadcast the Reds games in the early ’70s and did the Reds-As World Series on NBC in 1972. Now ready to do the Bengals in the Super Bowl on NBC in 2022, which is crazy.

That was a dramatic seven-game World Series. I just hope the Super Bowl provides that sort of drama on Sunday. Now over to the real Cincinnati kid with, roots in Florida, of course. Partner, take it away.

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: I hadn’t really thought about clawing my way back for the last 33 years, but you’ve been clawing your way back longer than I have. That’s right, mid-70s, there you go.

I’m obviously excited. I’m human. I can’t help myself. It’s going to be fun. I would have bought a ticket regardless to go watch this game. I just happened to get the best seat in the house and sit next to my partner, and what could be better.

I love the quarterback match-up in this game. I think it’s arguably the best collection of wide receivers that you’ll see on the field all season long. Terrific talent at the running back, and maybe the best stories in this game are all on the defensive side of the ball.

That makes for a fun broadcast, and I’m really looking forward to being a part of it with my partner, Ms. Michele Tafoya.

MICHELE TAFOYA: Well, thank you for that. I’m excited for you, too, Cris. No one would confirm nor deny if tears were shed in the Collinsworth household once they won the AFC Championship Game.

I’m excited about this game because I talk to so many people who are excited about this game — people not associated with television, who are just friends, family, who are excited about Joe Burrow and excited about Matthew Stafford and all the other storylines that Cris just mentioned.

I just think it’s intriguing. Some people have used the word ‘refreshing’ to see a couple of different quarterbacks than we’re used to seeing at this stage of the game. I’m originally form the Los Angeles-area. It’s a neat way to finish up the season for me, and I’m just looking forward to a good game. Kathryn Tappen?

KATHRYN TAPPEN: Thanks, Michele. I’m very excited to broadcast my first Super Bowl on the sideline, and with this broadcast team, the best in the game, it’s just a pinch-me moment for me. I’ve long admired and respected Michele, and to be sharing those sidelines with her, it’s a true honor. Having the opportunity to cover both of these teams in recent weeks – the Bengals in the Wild Card game we did, and then the Rams in the NFC Divisional game, I mean I’ve had extensive time to spend with these two teams, and I just love these storylines. I think we’re going to have a great game on Sunday. No shortage of things to talk about, and I’m super pumped for kickoff.

TERRY MCAULAY: Let me just say I’m thrilled to once again be part of the greatest single event in sports. This will actually be my second time working the Super Bowl with Al, Cris, Fred, and Drew, albeit in quite a different capacity, and I can honestly say I’m every bit as excited to work the game as a broadcaster as I was referring the game on the field. It is truly an honor to be part of this terrific team.

Q. Drew and Fred, just wondering technically how many cameras on Sunday and anything new coming?

FRED GAUDELLI: You know, we’ll probably have — in terms of cameras that shoot the game, that actually shoot the field and the play and the players — we’ll probably have 40 cameras.

Obviously, all those cameras will be recorded and be able to use for replay. We’ll be debuting a brand-new graphic look, a new score bug, a lot of virtual reality and augmented reality.

Obviously, when Drew and I do the Super Bowl, we just try to have all the angles that will provide answers to were his feet inbounds? Was his knee down before the ball came out? The kinds of questions that coaches need answers to to challenge or replay needs answers to to stop the game and review.

So those will probably be the highlights of the camera coverage.

Q. Cris, I wanted to ask you about the Bengals and the way they’ve built their roster. There was some question over who they should draft this year, and a lot of people felt they should take the offensive tackle because you’ve got to protect Joe Burrow, and that’s the general line of thinking in the NFL. You’ve got to beef up your offensive line to protect the quarterback. But the Bengals and Zac Taylor said they wanted to draft another receiver just because it gave Joe Burrow so many weapons, that it almost doesn’t matter necessarily who’s blocking, he can get rid of the ball so quickly. What do you think of that, and what do you think of the way the Bengals built around their wide receivers?

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: Yeah, Penei Sewell is a really good player, but he’s not been what Ja’Marr Chase has been this year. Ja’Marr Chase, in my estimation, is already the best receiver that I’ve ever seen play with a Cincinnati Bengals uniform on, and I don’t say that lightly.

Isaac Curtis is a dear friend of mine, and Chad Ochocinco was phenomenal during his run here.

But the number of times I’ve seen Ja’Marr Chase catch the football, five or ten yards down the field, and score a touchdown without anybody tackling him obviously, first of all, but usually nobody touching him, his catch-and-run skills have just been so much fun to watch this season.

I had a chance — the bizarre part about this game is I think for all of us to be doing a team in the Super Bowl that we did not do on Sunday Night Football. The odds of that are not very good at all, so I literally went back and watched all the throws, all the catches, all the plays.

This group of receivers is really phenomenal, and they are a balanced bunch, with Chase obviously being the explosive guy. Tee Higgins is a monster on the field; big, strong, contested catches. And Tyler Boyd is somebody that is just a bit of a street fighter, and all the big moments and all those clutch third-down conversions he’s been making for this team all season long.

It was really a joy for me to go back and really get familiar with this group of receivers and this quarterback who I’ve told a couple of our guys already that I think he’s followed by angels. Joe Burrow has escaped some moments this year that you just can’t imagine, and you saw a little bit of it against the Chiefs and Chris Jones in that Championship Game.

They’re a fun watch. I don’t know how much America is familiar with them because there haven’t been that many sort of primetime games, but they are definitely a fun watch.

Q. Cris, aside from the — you mentioned the personal meaning of this for you. Over this past week, has this been kind of a chance to reconnect with former teammates, some of you guys on text chains sort of talking about what this is going to be like? What’s that part of it been like for you?

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: Yeah, I’ll tell you, I’ve been kind of holed up getting ready for this game. I don’t leave the basement very often.

But I did go to the Bengals’ practice, and it was tremendous. Mike Brown is a guy that in many ways I feel like gets the short end of the stick sometimes because he’s not Jerry Jones, he’s not a big PR guy, he’s not out front and center all the time.

But I went away to go play in the USFL — or sign a contract, never actually played — and when the league wasn’t ready or was nearing an end, I went back to the Bengals. He welcomes me with open arms in 1988. I was sort of at the end of my career. Started law school.

He let me miss morning meetings to go to law school classes and could not have been more warm and gracious when I walked into that practice the other day. I really appreciate him. I always have. I’m happy for them.

But the bizarre part about this game is that we probably, or I probably, had more relationships with the Rams than I did the Bengals. I had never met the offensive or defensive coordinator before. I had only met Zac Taylor a couple of times before. We hadn’t done one of their games.

It was a weird week for me that I had to do almost all my preparation with the Bengals because I knew so much more about the Rams.

Q. For Cris and Al, because you both live there, can you speak to what the Bengals’ success and specifically this run would mean to that city, because they haven’t had a major championship since the Reds won the World Series in ’91? What do you think it would mean to them if they actually got this done?

AL MICHAELS: It’s a great sports town. I don’t have to tell you. When I was 26 years old, I’d go in to do the Cincinnati Reds. It’s the original Major League team. I mean, Cincinnati is baseball.

And then when the Bengals came in in 1968 as an expansion team, had a lot of early success, and when I was there I got to go to a number of Bengals games.

The town was very excited with football, with professional football. The fact that they went to two Super Bowls in the ’80s was tremendous, and then through the years it’s been rough, even though they’ve made a lot of playoff appearances, and finally they get over the hump.

Having spent three years there, I loved every moment of it. A fantastic sports town. Here’s the man who can answer that best of all.

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: Well, I don’t live in Los Angeles, but I do know that this is a big story in Los Angeles, as well.

But in a few weeks or months or whatever, you’re going to have the Academy Awards and you’re going to have the Grammy Awards and you’re going to have — there’s always the Lakers, the Dodgers, there’s always something. There’s always the next story.

In Cincinnati, you can’t imagine what it’s like right here right now. The town is lit up in all the orange imaginable. You turn on the nightly news and it’s the only story in some ways that is happening in this town.

I think for a Midwestern city, when they get this kind of opportunity, when they get the chance to go on the world stage in many ways for the first time in over 30 years, that there’s a buzz and an excitement and a coming together for a city that can only happen when these sort of moments come along.

As happy as I am for the Cincinnati Bengals and their organization, I feel like I’m even happier for the town of Cincinnati, because it really has galvanized this place.

Q. Last time we saw Von Miller in a Super Bowl we saw him take over and basically put rings on everybody’s hands in Denver. I know he’s not in his prime, but do either of you think that Von is still a guy that can take over a game and is going to demand sort of special attention from Zac and his coaching staff?

AL MICHAELS: Obviously he’s still a really good player, and the great thing about where he is right now are some of the other guys he’s playing with. When you’re along a defensive front and you’ve got Aaron Donald there, that can only be very helpful to everybody. And the rest of the team obviously with Jalen Ramsey and Eric Weddle is back there right now, which is a story unto itself.

It’s funny. We had a meeting before the Tampa Bay divisional game with the Rams, and we talked to Von about playing alongside Donald in effect, and Cris was in on the meeting, too.

He said, ‘I just move him away. I give him all the space he needs.’ It’s a great two-pronged situation for the Rams’ defense.

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: The basic question was can he still disrupt a game and do what he did in that first Super Bowl, and one of Al’s favorite answers that I give him all the time is, “Hell, yeah.”

I go back to the game that we did against Tampa that basically they were trying to help so much against Aaron Donald and Leonard Floyd and the other guys they have up there that Von Miller got a lot of one-on-ones, and he won, and he made big plays coming off the edge.

It’s a pick-your-poison kind of situation for the Cincinnati Bengals in this one. You have to pay attention to Aaron Donald. Typically he’s inside, and that’s the shortest path to the quarterback, so you do have to settle that first.

But regardless of who Von Miller lines up against in one-on-one pass-blocking situations, that’s a problem and a big problem to deal with.

Q. What’s it been like working with Mike Tirico as he’s juggled the Olympics and the Super Bowl this year?

FRED GAUDELLI: I’ve known Mike since the mid-‘ 80s. We were both at ESPN at the same time, and the one thing I would say about Mike, his capacity to work is remarkable. You really can’t throw too many things on his plate, and he handles each of them with great aplomb. He’s just a real professional.

Obviously this is a rare occurrence where you’re hosting the Olympics and the Super Bowl pregame on the same day, over the same weekend. Working with Mike has just been great.

Like I said, it’s been a long time for me, and it’s no easy feat what he’s pulling off here.

DREW ESOCOFF: Working with Mike, as Fred said, is very easy. I worked with him on horse racing, and hosting those shows is no easy task, especially the Kentucky Derby. He does it like nobody else can.

When we have to switch over, it’s not a problem. He and Cris work well together. I mean what he does is incredible.

Q. Drew, some of your technical folks, I know you have a new augmented reality camera with Steadicam, which allows you to do some different looks on the move for some of your AR graphics, and I was curious how you think you’ll use that as well as any other new looks that you’re looking forward to using through the game?

DREW ESOCOFF: Yeah, it is new for us. We have a virtual configuration on several other cameras throughout the course of the year. We have a very experienced Steadicam operator doing these kinds of things, and it’s going to be something that we’ll play with during the course of the week.

If it makes things better, we’ll use it. If things are better the way we’ve been doing it, we’ll stick with that. These things are enhancements to the show. We’re not going to let it drive the broadcast.

We spoke earlier about additional cameras. Most of those cameras are there to get better looks or more intimate looks than some traditional angles, and like Fred said, to make sure we have defining looks of critical plays throughout the game.

The biggest trap I’ve found doing Super Bowls or really any event of this magnitude is the more you can stick with what got you to where you are, the better off you are.

It’s cool to have all these new gadgets, and we’ll work them in when applicable and if it makes things better. And I think in the case of virtual graphics off the Steadicam, I think it will make certain things better, and I hope to be able to work that into the telecast.

Q. Terry, were you bothered or even offended by the frequency of flags that were picked up or thrown after the fact all season after getting help from above or afar? And Al and Cris, with all the coach and player retirements, Brady, Ben, maybe Rodgers, and this game with the young coaches and Burrow and Chase sort of representing the new superstars, does this game have a genuine changing of the guard feel in the NFL?

TERRY McAULAY: You know, obviously it’s speculation as we watch to see whether there was help from above for a lot of those flags. It seemed like, yes, there were a lot of conversations that were involving not as much talk on the field as listening.

I think it’s something the NFL competition committee is going to have to work on and decide what are the exact parameters, because what the crews are doing, they want to get it right. That’s their ultimate goal.

Sometimes we’ve seen it happen in the past. They may stretch it to look at the board or listen from above to get the play exactly right, and it’s understandable.

But I think what has to happen is the committee has to decide what the exact parameters are, and we’ll all adjust. Every one of us will adjust if we know what it is going forward — coaches, players, fans, announcers will adjust.

It’s the unknown that is making me and a lot of others a little concerned at this point to see how it plays out. I will say this: I think after about week 8, we saw a lot less of it than I think we saw in the beginning of the season.

I don’t recall much at all even in the playoffs, so it may be a non-issue at this particular moment, and hopefully it won’t be an issue this coming weekend.

AL MICHAELS: In relation to the changing of the guard, there’s a changing of the guard every few years in the National Football League. Who’s going to replace Johnny Unitas? Who’s going to replay Joe Montana and John Elway and Dan Marino? Then along comes the 2000s with Tom Brady.

We all know that the new guys come into the mix. It’s really always been the case. There’s always a little bit of handwringing when there are a bunch of good guys getting older and people say, What’s next?

But we now know what’s next, and certainly Joe Burrow is right at the top of that list right now along with somebody like Kyler Murray, along with Lamar Jackson. So you have all of these guys who are getting older and/or retiring, and yet there’s always a new pipeline, and especially the way college football is these days with so much of a pro look and a lot of what the pros have taken from college just folds in perfectly to these guys coming in and being as successful as they have been early on in their career.

To me, it’s just an evolving process and the National Football League is very fortunate, that I think it will continue for a long, long time.

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: It’s interesting for me, the question, because certainly with Mahomes and Herbert and Burrow and Josh Allen, and go down the list of these young quarterbacks, we’re in great shape in the National Football League as far as our broadcasts are concerned with the stars that are out there.

But this is the first Super Bowl, and this is my fifth, that didn’t have Tom Brady and didn’t have Bill Belichick, which speaks loud and clear about exactly what those two have meant to the National Football League.

The idea that we’re not going to see Tom Brady again, and we did end up calling that last game. So it is a bit reflective with Ben and with Drew Brees last year and you go right down the list. It’s different, but it’s just as exciting.

Q. Al and Cris, how much is the Brian Flores situation overshadowing this game? And Michele, your thoughts about this being your last game?

AL MICHAELS: Obviously there are a ton of stories out there, and there’s plenty of time to engage the audience in those stories. I think Fred can speak to the fact of how this will be handled.

FRED GAUDELLI: It’s going to be handled in our pregame show somewhat significantly and thoughtfully. I’m not sure how this comes up in the game unless the game was a really one-sided rout or something like that.

But I know that we’ve been discussing and planning for the pregame show, and that’s the primary place it’s going to happen, and probably the only place it’s going to happen on Super Bowl Sunday.

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: I was happy personally that Roger addressed…you know, when you have Leslie Frazier and Todd Bowles…go down the list, it’s frustrating.

I think as broadcasters, sometimes I think we get to know these great coaches more so than the other owners in the league because they are assistants and they’re hard to get to know.

We get a lot of calls from owners about these guys and what are they like and what do you think and all that sort of stuff. Yeah, I know that those coaches are frustrated. I know a lot of players are frustrated. It sounds like the commissioner is frustrated, and I think I am, too, because those are very deserving people.

MICHELE TAFOYA: Thanks for the question. I don’t want to be part of the story necessarily, but I do appreciate, more than ever this opportunity to do a fifth Super Bowl, to do it with this crew. I’ve worked a lot with this crew, and they are a family of mine.

That’s the hard part for me, knowing that the family is going to get a little shake-up here. When people ask me what I’m going to miss, it’s that. It’s my family, this second family of mine. While I’m overjoyed to have the opportunity to spend more time with my own immediate family, and I’m so, so excited about that, I will miss these people.

Oh, shoot, I don’t want to get emotional here.

I think that’s the biggest part, and talking to players every week, I’ve been talking to guys this week that I’ve known for so long and sharing stories and just talking about how that’s going to be the hard part.

We were all talking about how you get to a certain point, and you’ve chased what you wanted to chase, a particular arena in your life, and there are other things you want to chase, and that’s how I feel, and I feel strongly about that. It’s going to be hard walking out of there leaving these folks.

I thank God for Zoom and phones and all the accessible ways we have to access each other that I will be using because I can’t say it enough, I love this group. I love these guys, and that’s going to be the hard part.

Q. Michele and Kathryn, how does being on the sidelines for a Super Bowl and your prep ahead of Sunday differ from a regular season Sunday night game?

KATHRYN TAPPEN: I think the biggest difference for us is that the storytelling becomes less about the players and their lives and things behind the scenes that maybe we bring throughout the regular season a little bit more.

We become hypersensitive to what’s happening right on the field there, right on the sidelines, and something as basic as maybe a guy is getting an ankle taped, and it might not be an injury at that point in time, but it might be something that’s significant in two or three more plays that we have to circle back to.

We want to know, we talked to the backup quarterback. Things like that become more and more important that typically during the week we might not do. I’ll let Michele chime in here, as well — but less and less about the storytelling and more about what we’re seeing on that football field at that point in time.

MICHELE TAFOYA: I think that’s a fair way of summarizing it. The game is the thing. The game is always the thing, and it dictates how we get paced in there — you really got to pick your spots, and that becomes more important.

I like this stepping back macro approach we get to take this week and really just kind of look at this whole big event. It’s just kind of like a wait-and-see, what’s going to be important, where are we going to fit in.

I’m excited about it. Honestly, my hope is just we have a hell of a game, because the playoffs have been so good and you just want it to continue. My prediction is that we will, and I hope I didn’t just put the kibosh on it.

AL MICHAELS: Michele and I have worked on about 300 shows together. I met her three hours before we went on the air in an NBA game Christmas day 2003 in LA between the Lakers and the Houston Rockets. Yao Ming was a rookie. She always hits the mark.

I’ve never had more confidence in anybody, leading to them knowing that they will be right there. Michele talks about the family, and we’re going to miss her desperately and dearly. She is as good a reporter as there is print or electronic as far as I’m concerned in the business. Just a joy to work with, and, sis, we’re going to miss you, too. That’s all I can say.

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: I am with you. I’m jumping on that, too. I never had a sister, but if you ever had the sister that was in the room with a roomful of boys that could more than hold her own, and in many ways lead that roomful of boys, that’s who we had and have in Michele Tafoya.

She keeps us entertained. She keeps us laughing. She brings great joy not only on the broadcast, but in all the prep work and the behind-the-scenes. Some of the best memories that I’m going to have of working with this group of NBC people are just the bus rides and the car rides and just laughing hysterically, and so many times Michele Tafoya has been front and center of those discussions.

We’re going to miss you, but I’m not treating it like that because we’re going to be harassing you forever.

AL MICHAELS: Amen.

MICHELE TAFOYA: I’m so glad this is not on a Zoom where people can see me right now. That’s all I’ve gotta say.

Q. Fred and Al, just generally, why do you think NFL ratings have been up this season?

FRED GAUDELLI: Look, like everything else in life, ratings are cyclical. Obviously the last two years we’ve been in a place in our country we haven’t been in over 100 years with the pandemic, and that had a great effect last year.

The quality of play, especially in the playoffs, has been unbelievable. It’s probably as exciting a playoffs as I can remember, and this is my 32nd year doing the NFL. The games were amazing. They were high scoring, and even the defensive battle in Green Bay between San Francisco and the Packers was just so compelling.

When you have events like that that more than live up to the hype, you’re going to get people in the tent and you’re going to get more people in the tent. They tell more people, and before you know it, you have increased ratings.

During the regular season I just think it was a combination of the country was coming back, people are learning to, unfortunately, live with what we’re living with right now, but not letting it stop your traditional routines.

We’ve been able to adjust, and I think that played a big reason and was a big reason as to why the ratings were up this year.

AL MICHAELS: I’ll piggy-back a lot of what Fred just said. I think it’s unscripted television. There’s a lot of good television out there these days, and there’s a lot of pretty terrible television, scripted. Once in a while you’ll find a good show.

The unscripted live presentation of the National Football League and sports in general, it’s something different than anything else on television. It’s exciting. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know what the outcome is going to be.

I think through the years, too, and this is 36 years of doing the NFL in primetime, I’m even amazed sitting there and watching how beautiful this game looks, how fantastically well it’s televised.

Drew Esocoff, he doesn’t do take 20, you get one take. We all live in this adrenaline world where you want to be perfect, and we’re always trying to pitch the perfect game, but the pictures are so — they’re just so beautiful, and the drama, of course, and what we’ve seen over the past six playoff games, you want to do a movie. You can’t write movies like that and people know that, and they’re watching it live and it’s breathtaking in a way.

I think a lot of factors go into it, and I think you go back to the fact, football is the perfect television sport. Four or five seconds of action or less, and then maybe 30 seconds of perhaps inaction unless a team is playing hurry-up, and then replays, and every angle you possibly want. The way football is televised these days, I’m still — after all of these years, I’m still amazed.

Q. Mr. Michaels, I have a question about how this is your 11th Super Bowl you’ve been covering. Do you still remember your first Super Bowl?

AL MICHAELS: Oh, sure. It was Washington against Denver after the ’87 season. The game was played in San Diego. It looked like — a lot of Super Bowls to that point had been boring, snore-fests. This one looked like it was going to be pretty good.

You had John Elway going up against Washington. They took a 10-0 lead, Denver did in the first quarter, and the next thing you know at halftime it’s 35-10 Washington.

It’s the Doug Williams game. It’s the Timmy Smith game running for over 200 yards. It was 35-10 at the half, so all of a sudden this great game we thought we had turned out to be a game where in the second half all we’re doing is telling stories.

That was number one. And of the ten I’ve done, six of them have gone down to the last several seconds of the game or the last play of the game, and hopefully I’ll hit a lucky seven next Sunday.

Q. Cris, you were in the last Super Bowl for the Bengals against some guy named Montana. Does Joe Burrow look like a young Joe Montana growing up?

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: You know, it’s funny you say that, because I’ve never said that out loud, but in my mind that’s what it is, because we see so many of these sort of physically imposing quarterbacks that have these phenomenal skill sets, that they’re either so fast, the Lamar Jackson’s of the world, or have this incredible arm, the Josh Allen’s of the world or Patrick Mahomes or just great decision makers or whatever the case may be.

But what stands out for Joe Burrow is exactly what I always thought stood out for Joe Montana, and that was his presence, in the moment, when it matters most, when his team needs a play, when he needs to escape the rush.

He just has had a lot of that. He’s taken a lot of sacks this year, more sacks than anybody else, and yet he will tell you that he will never let anybody know that he’s hurt or hurting and gets up and he takes great pride in his team, his offensive line, and he’s just that kind of leader, just like Joe was.

I had the good fortune of being around Joe a little bit at the Pro Bowl and in later life, as well, and as hard and as much as I would not like to like Joe Montana after beating me twice in Super Bowls, you can’t help it. You can’t not like the guy. He’s just a magnet. And I think Joe Burrow has some of that, too.

Q. Michele, over the years that you’ve done this, what do you think is the absolute greatest on-field advancement of football? And Kathryn, do you believe that the running back position is over with, if you will, with the idea of Cordarrelle Patterson and all the other hybrids, Deebo Samuels? Do you think it’s ending knowing Derrick Henry had an injury this year?

MICHELE TAFOYA: So when you say advancement, I’m not exactly sure what specifically you’re asking about.

Q. As far as the game, the game is faster, the athleticism, all that kind of stuff. I wanted to see the differences you’ve found over the years as someone who’s been on the sidelines.

MICHELE TAFOYA: Yeah, it definitely seems to get faster all the time. The hits seem to get harder. But I’m encouraged at one thing. I am encouraged by a lot of things, but one of the things that I’m seeing that makes me a little hopeful is that it seems like we’re seeing some of that rugby-esque type of tackling being implemented.

So we want to obviously minimize head injuries and that’s a big part of player safety, and just for the sake of the players and the sake of the game, you want to see that.

Now, we’ve seen some devastating injuries. We saw Ryan Shazier, what happened to him. We’ve seen these devastating hits that still I think can be eliminated.

But I do like seeing some of this wrap the guy up below his chest and just do it in a smart way, and I hope to see that continue, because that’s one thing that has kind of sparked my imagination as to where the game can go.

I know people love the hits, but some of them are just flat-out dangerous and unnecessary really to accomplish the goal.

KATHRYN TAPPEN: For me, I don’t think we’ve seen — I’m actually surprised by the question, but I don’t think we’ve seen the end of that position. I think it’s a very valuable part to many of these teams’ game plan week in, week out.

You always hear them talk about running the ball, running the ball, and in particular with Joe Mixon, just eclipsing that 1,200 yard mark in rushing for the season. I think only four other Bengals’ players have run for more yards in a season that we’ve seen.

I don’t believe that we’ve seen the end of the running back position. I think it’s probably the less heralded one when you see guys making big plays like Cooper Kupp and you see Ja’Marr Chase, what he’s been able to do at the wide receiver position.

But probably a better question for Cris, but in my own opinion, I don’t believe that that position is going away anytime soon or will be less valuable moving forward, especially in big games like this.

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon and welcome to today’s NBC Sports NFL conference call. We have a pair of games this holiday weekend, with the Bills at the Saints in primetime at 8pm ET on Thanksgiving night…and then an AFC North matchup between the Browns and the first-place Ravens on Sunday Night Football.

Joining us on today’s call is our Thanksgiving night announce booth of Mike Tirico, who has his fifth Thanksgiving assignment, but will be calling his fourth Thanksgiving night game for NBC as last year’s game was postponed.

And alongside Mike, it will be Drew Brees making his return to New Orleans, where he played 15 seasons for the Saints, setting all of the team’s major passing records and leading the franchise to a Super Bowl victory. For those of you who like stats, Drew’s 281 TD passes and 35,505 yards at the Superdome are each the most by a player at one venue in NFL history.

We’ll begin with brief comments from Mike & Drew and then we’ll take your questions. Mike…

MIKE TIRICO: Thanks. Happy Thanksgiving. Given our accolades where Drew has the most passing yards in any stadium in the history of the league, and my Thanksgiving game got canceled last year, you probably want to hear more from Drew than me, which is absolutely fine. I’ll clear the decks here in a minute.

Needless to say, we all love football. Any of us on the call, most of the people that you’re writing for, there’s nothing like Thanksgiving with football and family. And the opportunity to be involved with football has been great for me over the couple of decades of Thanksgiving college games for eight years and now the NFL games with the NBC package on Thanksgiving evening. To do this and then bounce over to Baltimore to join Cris Collinsworth for the Browns and Ravens, a very important game for the AFC North.

One comment on Drew. We’ve done seven Notre Dame games and probably a dozen studio shows here in Drew’s early start in the business. I just think it’s been really great to watch how hard Drew has worked at this because he’s doing something that’s unique. He’s coming in and being a studio analyst for the NFL and calling games for college. And I think most of you know that’s really two different skill sets. And obviously very different pools to jump into.

It’s been a blast. I’ve learned so much watching games with Drew. Talking, traveling, all that stuff, it’s been fun. It will be a thrill to be back in the dome with fans, as Drew’s there in a very different capacity. And he sees the Superdome from the perspective we’ve seen it all these years.

DREW BREES: Thank you, Mike. I reciprocate all those feelings about you as well. It’s been an absolute pleasure to have the chance to work beside Mike here broadcasting these past seven home Notre Dame games. Have certainly learned a ton and have really had a lot of fun doing it.

Mike said it, too. Thanksgiving, probably one of my favorite holidays. I very much relate Thanksgiving to football. I remember as a kid going out in the backyard on Thanksgiving Thursdays. My brother Reid and I would throw on our sweats and we would play football in the backyard. That was like a family tradition. Had the chance to play on Thanksgiving a few times in the NFL, all with the Saints, which have been some pretty enjoyable experiences.

I think we had, all three victories — one at Dallas, one here in New Orleans and one in Atlanta. And now this joy of broadcasting for me as well.

So you combine all those together on this coming Thursday night and obviously returning to the Dome for the first time with fans in about two years for me. All of that shapes up to be a pretty incredible night. No place I’d rather be. And really, really looking forward to it.

Q. Drew what’s your impressions of Derek Carr’s season and what stood out for you from the time with Greg Olson at Purdue?

DREW BREES: It’s obviously been a tough season with all the circumstances for the Raiders. I thought they started off really, really well. I think Derek Carr was playing some really, really good football. I can recall us sitting in the studio those first three weeks watching the Raiders play and specifically watching Derek Carr and just saying how good he looked and how comfortable he looked. And they just seemed to be hitting on all cylinders as an offense.

Greg Olson is now the play caller and has been in the NFL a long time. Greg Olson was my quarterback coach in college for four years. He’s been one of my mentors. I’ve had such a great relationship with him for almost 25 years now. And I think wherever he’s gone he’s been very well respected and really done a great job. It certainly seems like he and Derek Carr have a great relationship and great rapport.

So you hope for them as a team, even despite all the circumstances that down the stretch here, they’ll be able to kind of pull it together and put together some good wins and get back in the race there in the AFC West. I know it’s a tough division, and it’s only getting tougher with the way the Chargers and the Chiefs are playing now.

Q. For both of you, wondering what it’s been like being in the studio watching the fourth quarter of that Chargers-Steelers game Sunday night? And then, Drew, just your thoughts, since I know you were here during mini-camp on the Chargers and Herbert’s development, and how you see the AFC West going the rest of the way?

MIKE TIRICO: As we leave at the end of the third quarter, heading back to the hotel, thinking that the game is in hands for the Chargers, and then the Steelers start with the blocked punt. And we have our group chat and our text chain. And we’re going back and forth with me and Tony and Drew about what’s going on and where did this offense come from.

It was a heck of a fourth quarter. As entertaining a fourth quarter as we’ve had all year. But I would say that’s one of those games that shows you a little bit what Drew said in our studio show — there’s just a different feel around Brandon Staley that maybe the way the Chargers lost games like that in the past, it’s starting to turn a little bit. That’s one where you’ve seen the Chargers lose in that script a dozen times.

And to get one of those to stay right in the thick of things and the big head-to-head tiebreaker impactful victory over a Pittsburgh team that will be battling for a playoff spot as well, that’s a huge win, engineered especially with that big throw from the guy who Drew thinks so much of in Justin Herbert.

DREW BREES: I’ll pick up there. There’re very few teams where you truly say they always have a chance based on the quarterback. And I think the Chargers are one of those teams.

When you have a guy like that who has so many physical tools, but I think what you’re starting to see too is just with more and more games under his belt, a level of maturity and just the way that he’s playing the game, I thought there were so many plays last night that were indicative of that growth as a young quarterback.

How many times did he take off and run on third down to get a first down to keep a drive going? In a game where I think he knew that they had to be really efficient, knowing that their defense has been struggling a bit, and the Steelers have a chance to make big plays, which they did down the stretch.

But that throw that he made to take the lead there as they lost it in the third quarter was, like, I wish we were looking at it together on film, because I know the play because I know their offense. It’s Joe Lombardi, right? He was our quarterback coach here with the Saints when I was here for so long. And it’s the same offense.

But, I’m watching his eyes in the replay and the way that he peeks the safety. And he knows the safety isn’t getting to the deep path like he’s supposed to. He feels the corner jump the slot route, so he knows he’s got Mike Williams down the sideline. And he’s got the arm strength to get it there before the safety can get there. Just all these things like you have to assess in a split second as a quarterback. And it’s like mastery. When you see it all comes together it’s like, ‘Man, that’s it.’

But at a critical situation, too. That was pretty impressive. And, again, he’s just one of those guys that they could be down 14, they could be down 17, they always have a chance. They’ve got a guy like him who can make plays all over the field. And offensively they’re so explosive.

Q. For this Thanksgiving night game, it seems like both teams, they both need a win to kind of get momentum back.

DREW BREES: In my opinion, the Saints defense and the Buffalo defense have been probably the two most consistent defenses all year long. If you look at them week after week, the games they’ve put together and just the way they’ve played, it’s been very, very consistent.

Both these past two games were a little bit of aberrations with the amount of rushing yards they gave up — Bills, what, 260-plus and the Saints about 240-plus. So that was a bit unusual. Both those were pretty good run defenses.

And I think, too, their offenses aren’t really playing well right now. They’re turning the ball over. They kind of put them in tough spots, which probably contributed to that as well.

Look, Buffalo was three games ahead in their division a couple weeks ago. And now New England has jumped them. Obviously they’re going to play New England twice over the next four weeks after this. So a lot will be said with those two games.

The Saints on the other hand, I think they’re in a really tough spot just because they have so many injuries on the offensive side of the ball. They just don’t have much continuity. Defensively, I think that’s been the one real consistent spot. And yet at the same time, they just have to find a way to start games faster. They’ve been so slow starting these games the last three weeks that they’ve been down double digits, and by the time they get to the fourth quarter they’re having to create some miraculous comeback and that’s just too little, too late.

So they’ve got to find a way to generate some more points and some more opportunities to start games and at least keep the games close. And I think they have the type of makeup on the team, leadership wise and everything else, to win tight games, but they’ve just got to keep them tight.

Q. I’m writing a feature on Terron Armstead. Could you share insight why the team voted him the Ed Block Courage Award winner last year, and what it was like to play with him as a teammate for so long?

DREW BREES: I played with Terron since 2013. He came in as a third-round pick. Didn’t start right away. I remember his first start like it was yesterday. He started against Carolina at Carolina. It was a huge game. And he had to go up against Greg Hardy, one of the best pass rushers in the division. And I remember Terron just had an incredible game. Like, this guy didn’t even touch me.

I think he’s always been one of those guys that you just felt like was ready for the big-time. Like nothing really fazed him. He’s obviously an incredible athlete. More so than that, he’s developed into a real pro and a great leader on the team. The guys really respect him. He does things the right way.

He’s obviously battled his fair share of injuries. And I think in most cases that’s what the Ed Block Courage Award represents, guys who have had to overcome adversity, both personal and physical. He lost his brother last year during the year, which was such a tough thing for him. And gets COVID during that time as well. So having to deal with that, overcome that, as well as all the injuries that he just continues to battle with. There’s not a more perfect person to represent what that award stands for.

Q. A couple of years ago Josh Allen and the Bills played on Thanksgiving. They went to Dallas and got a pretty big win for that franchise. Just wondering if you would kind of agree that that win sort of solidified them on the national stage as bona fide playoff-type team, playoff contenders? Drew, in regards to Josh Allen, was there a moment where you sort of recognized, wow, this guy might have something special? If there was, when was it? And maybe your impressions of Josh’s season to this point.

MIKE TIRICO: I can tell you that I remember being in the press box getting ready to call the Saints-Falcons game, Drew playing of course in 2019, watching the Buffalo-Dallas game. Usually when we do the night game on Thanksgiving, you watch the Lions game at your hotel and then head over to the stadium and catch as much of the second game as you can before your game getting ready.

And we’re watching Buffalo just empty out the playbook, man, and just do everything, right? That was one of those, when you saw the schedule came out, you go, ‘are you really going to put Buffalo and a second-year quarterback in Dallas on Thanksgiving?’ And they were ready for the moment. They had a great season. If memory serves me right they were 8-3 going into that game. That was a real statement to do it on that stage against the Cowboys.

Josh was terrific. He scrambled a bunch. Maybe just under a dozen times or so. (Devin) Singletary ran well. And Cole Beasley going back to Dallas had a great game. And all the players who needed to step up, stepped up and without a doubt got everyone’s attention for how good that Buffalo team could be.

And I think we saw that as they went on into the rest of that season and obviously last year — Thanksgiving is a stage where you do things and it’s remembered for a long time. Anytime somebody blocks a field goal now you say, Leon Lett, don’t touch it. So that stage is a big one in NFL. And the Bills stepped on it in Jerry World and have been right center stage in the NFL since that point.

Now you get a little adversity, and you feel the pressure that Dallas, the Pittsburghs, those flagship franchises feel on a regular basis of what’s wrong with this team as they go through a little tough patch.

And on Thanksgiving they have another chance to remind everybody how good they are. So it could come in a couple year’s full circle for them in that regard.

DREW BREES: So you asked me the question about when did I recognize that Josh Allen had this type of talent. As I recall [in his second year] when they made the playoffs and they go to Houston, I know that resulted in a loss. But down the stretch there, in that game, he made some plays that really, really gave them a chance to potentially win that game. And that’s when I think I recognized, man, from an athletic perspective there’s really not many guys like that.

He’s got some really rare athletic traits. And combined with a big arm and once he developed some experience and they really had a chance to build that offense around him, he’s going to be able to really do some things. And sure enough, last year he put a lot of that on display.

And I know this year hasn’t been quite as consistent. They’re going through some pains, but I think that’s all part of the process as well. He’s definitely shown a lot, though.

Q. Drew, is this going to be able to be a family/work trip? Are you going to be able to have everybody there for the halftime thing and so forth? And, second, what are your expectations emotionally and professionally for covering a Saints game? And are you going to try to be objective or are you just going to just ask everybody to forgive you for maybe being a little partisan?

DREW BREES: Well, the good thing is that I’ve already had a little bit of experience with this when Purdue played at Notre Dame this year and I was asked the exact same questions. And I was able to stay very objective, even though I was a Purdue grad and we played against Notre Dame four times when I was in school and all the rivalry and all that other stuff.

I do have a job to do. And I’m going to be a pro. And so I don’t think anybody has to worry about that. I will call it as I see it. And I will try to give everybody a very enjoyable experience from my perspective with my insight alongside Mike.

As far as just kind of the moment of being back in the Dome, that’s definitely going to be a great moment. I mean, anytime we get a chance to step inside the Superdome, whether you’re a player or a fan or broadcasting the game, it’s just an electric environment. I’m looking forward to it, especially the fact I haven’t been inside the Dome with fans in almost two years. So, it will be a great experience.

Yeah, my family’s flying in. So, they’ll be there. It’s very much a work trip for me. Like, I’m just in the middle of preparation right now to broadcast this game, the same way I would as if I was playing in it. So the analysis on both sides of the ball, studying both teams so that we can put together the best broadcast that we can.

Q. Cris Collinsworth told me when I asked him if Buffalo was the toughest place for an analyst to hear criticism, he said no, actually the toughest place, believe it or not, is Cincinnati, because people expect him to be pro-Cincinnati. In that case, Drew, are you prepared for criticism not so much — probably as much — but just as many from New Orleans people who don’t think you’re as complimentary as they would like you to be?

DREW BREES: Well, if they give me something to be complimentary about, I’ll be complimentary. Look, I have a job to do. I’m a broadcaster for NBC. And, listen, I love the game of football. I love broadcasting the game of football.

And my job, when I’m in the booth, is to try to articulate the game in the best way that I possibly can to the fans. Exactly what’s happening on the field. To be very impartial. To talk about both teams the exact same way from the perspective of — listen, we’ll have storylines. We’ll have personal interactions that we’ll have throughout the week with players, with coaches, talk big picture, obviously focus on what’s happening on the field and try to dive deeper into some of the explanation of that. Give fans some great insight into my knowledge of the game from being in that Saints offense for so many years and knowing a lot about Buffalo’s offense and defense as well from my film study.

At the end of the day, I think that’s really what fans want. They want a deeper dive and great insight into what’s happening on the field, and not for us to take away from it, but for us to add to it.

Q. When I asked about the question about New Orleans fans going after you. Do you anticipate any of that?

DREW BREES: No, I don’t.

Q. We just saw the Ravens win without Lamar Jackson, but as you look ahead for them playing tougher teams, how dependent do you think they are on him sort of playing great to be competitive against the other really good teams? And then also, what have you seen from him in terms of his progress as a passer? I know he’s worked with some of the same coaches that worked with you, Drew. Where do you see his progress on that front?

DREW BREES: I have not had a chance to really watch them a lot, especially from the perspective of studying their passing game or his mechanics or the things that you might be referring to, from the perspective of working with some of the same guys.

I think just from watching him over the years, man, there’s not a more competitive guy. Like, you can feel that when you watch the game. I’ve had a little interaction with Lamar just from a Pro Bowl a few years back. In fact, my oldest son, Baylen, was a huge Lamar Jackson fan. It was his dream at the time to meet Lamar. I had a chance to bring Baylen in and meet Lamar before one of their practices. And Lamar signed a helmet for him and kind of got a chance to spend some time with him. It was actually pretty cool.

But, I have admired his journey thus far, and watching that offense be built around him and his skill set. He’s got such a unique skill set, and with everything that they went through too, early in the season with losing so many guys to injury, especially running backs, I think it goes to show that that offense revolves around him. And you can plug in a lot of other pieces. As long as you’ve got him, he can make it work. And they’ve positioned themselves really well in that division now.

MIKE TIRICO: Getting ready for the game, if Cleveland wins, you’re going to have, with six weeks left, that entire division separated by a game, with eight games of divisional competition down the stretch. So, a Cleveland win compacts this thing to a place where we’ve really never seen an NFL division with almost everybody a game to two games over .500 with five, six weeks left in the season and so many head-to-head games.

Those games against each other in the AFC North are going to be incredible. And a lot of it pins on Cleveland being able to get the win in Baltimore, which will not be easy given the injury status and what’s going on with Baker this week and all that stuff. So, super fascinating game and one that will impact Pittsburgh and Cincinnati going down the stretch. And those teams play earlier in the day.

Q. Obviously, Baker Mayfield’s been playing hurt, left shoulder, for almost the entire season. And lately in the last couple of weeks it’s been a heel and a knee. Not playing well lately, and he was so frustrated, he did not even do his postgame news conference after the game. I’m wondering, from your perspective, if you were advising the Browns, Drew, how would you have them approach the situation with Baker? Obviously, he’s under contract through next season with a fifth-year option but not beyond that. And this season’s kind of gone sideways on him.

DREW BREES: They’ve had some variables this year. Obviously, I think the toughest part is when the expectations are so high, which they were coming into this season. I think everybody kind of had them pegged as being a top-three AFC team.

And man, they’ve had their fair share of injuries and various things have happened that have certainly affected that. Maybe some of the internal stuff with OBJ as well and a defense trying to find itself a little bit as well. I think we know who they are offensively. They’re a run-first offense.

And I think we’ve seen that when Nick Chubb is healthy and they’ve got that run game going, they’re a really formidable team. But it kind of starts there.

I think for Baker, listen, I know what it’s like to have some of those injuries. Probably had a lot of the same injuries that he’s dealing with right now and they’re no fun. Do they affect you? Yes, they affect you. They affect your weekly preparation because you’ve got to spend so much time on your rehab, prehab. Just taking care of your body and just getting to Sunday. But at the end of the day, there’s a different way to win each week.

Even though there’s times where you might not be 100 percent or you may not have your “A” game or all of the tools in the toolbox, you’ve just got to find what you do have and find a way to go out there and make it work to get you the win.

There’s a different way to do that each and every week. So, I think we’re going to learn a lot about them over the next the remainder of this season. They obviously have some divisional games coming up. And like Mike just said, that division is very, very close. They could be right back in it very quickly.

So, the story’s yet to be written there. I think for them it’s just a matter of tuning out all the noise and just focusing on the business at hand.

Q. Drew, I don’t know if you’ve been able see Miami at all, the Baltimore game on Thursday night, the London game was a national telecast. But as you know, basically there’s six weeks for Tua to prove to the Dolphins management that he should be their guy long-term and they should not pursue Watson. From what you’ve seen of Tua, do you have any conviction about whether he’s a long-term solution, or is that unclear to you?

DREW BREES: You know, it’s tough when you start making judgments on a guy with still so little game action. I mean, from last year to this year — obviously he’s battled injuries along the way as well. There are times when I watch Tua and, man, he plays really, really well with the exception of maybe one or two plays in the game. And unfortunately, those one or two plays was a pick or a negative play or just something that impacted the game in a way where it was a close game and all of a sudden that became detrimental.

I think that every young quarterback goes through that, where you really have to learn at the NFL level what it takes to win but, more importantly, what it takes not to lose.

And I would say just the Dolphins overall, over the last two years, they’re a young team. And they’re a team that’s still learning and growing and kind of developing who they are and how to win, or more importantly how not to lose.

And they’re in a tough division with Buffalo and New England, right? So, they have obviously those guys to contend with on an annual basis.

But I think it’s too soon to make any judgments on Tua, and it’s unfortunate that all that’s been swirling in the air around him. Even at the start of the season there was all this talk about how Miami was going to be making the trade for Deshaun Watson. For a quarterback to have that going on in the periphery at all times, it’s tough when you don’t feel like you’ve got really everybody buying in to you and trying to build around it. So, it’s a tough situation for him but he’s got to worry about the things he can control and just focus on helping his team win each and every week.

I think their team is playing, what I’ve seen over the last two weeks, I think they found their rhythm. They struggled early on in the season when expectations were high, but I think they’re still trying to find it a little bit.

Q. I have a Baker Mayfield question. He was talking about how disappointed he was in his accuracy Sunday against the Lions. As one of the most accurate passers ever, did you notice anything in his mechanics and how the series of injuries that he’s dealing with could affect that?

DREW BREES: It absolutely affects it. I saw him — the game that he came back after injury, I remember seeing just in pregame, they had the camera on him a lot, talking about him coming back and he had the shoulder harness on. And I’m just watching him throw and I’m, like, man, that’s a different throwing motion. Like his mechanics are altered a little bit based on the fact that he doesn’t have his same range of motion with what he would typically be doing with his front side, with his left side.

And you can survive for a little bit with those adjustments, but long-term those become habits that you develop and that can definitely affect you, affect your accuracy. So that combined with — that was just my observation with his left shoulder. I don’t know the extent of the knee or whatever else. But certainly, all those things play a factor.

Bills Visit Saints Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and Universo

Tirico to Call NBC Sports’ Thanksgiving NFL Matchup For 5^th Time

Brees Returns to New Orleans after 15 Record-Setting Seasons with Saints

Dial 334-777-6978 to Participate

STAMFORD, Conn. – November 23, 2021 – NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico and Drew Brees will preview the Buffalo Bills-New Orleans Saints Thanksgiving night matchup on a media conference call today at 3 p.m. ET.

Tirico and Brees, who work together on Football Night in America, America’s most-watched weekly studio show, and Notre Dame Football game broadcasts, will call Bills-Saints Thursday from Caesars Superdome in New Orleans at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Joining Tirico and Brees in New Orleans are Michele Tafoya, who reports from the sidelines and handles NBC Sports’ traditional Thanksgiving on-field postgame honors, and three-time Super Bowl referee and SNF rules analyst Terry McAulay.

Tirico calls his fifth NBC Sports’ Thanksgiving NFL game (2016, 2018-20). Brees, who earned Super Bowl XLIV MVP honors in leading the Saints to the championship following the 2009 season, was selected to 12 Pro Bowls in 15 seasons in New Orleans with a 142-86 (.623) regular-season record. He set all of the club’s career passing records.

***CONFERENCE CALL INFO***

Who: Mike Tirico and Drew Brees

What: Tirico and Brees preview Bills-Saints Thanksgiving night matchup

When: TODAY at 3 p.m. ET

NUMBER: 334-777-6978

PASSCODE: 5585520

–NBC SPORTS—