“Of all the practices I saw on my camp tour, this one was the most interesting.” – King on Arizona Cardinals training camp

FMIA Includes King’s Thoughts on Antonio Brown, His Training Camp All-Interview Team, and Conversation with Richard Sherman

“I do think it’ll get done sooner than later. I don’t think that it’ll reach the deadline.” – Richard Sherman on CBA negotiations

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 19, 2019 – Peter King travels to Arizona and speaks with Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and first-year head coach Kliff Kingsbury in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com.

King also shares his thoughts about the Antonio Brown helmet situation and reveals his Training Camp Tour all-interview team.

In addition, King continues his training camp tour with a stop in San Francisco, where he speaks with 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman about the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations.

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

 

NEW-LOOK CARDINALS

Murray on Kingsbury: “[Kingsbury] is the kind of coach guys like to play for. I think everybody has the perception of his swag, his confidence, his offense. But for me that was from the outside looking in. I didn’t get to play for him at the time.”

Murray on Kingsbury’s offense: “It’s really quarterback-friendly, I’ll say. It’s a versatile offense. As soon as we get this thing rolling, we’ll all be on the same page. It’s really quick. It’s really fast…So, it’s putting people in space, putting our guys in space, our athletes in space. It’s going to be fun to watch.”

King: “Of all the practices I saw on my camp tour, this one was the most interesting.”

King: “It’s a fascinating combo platter. A big chunk of people think Kliff Kingsbury didn’t deserve the job, but they’re fascinated to see if his offense will shred the competition or fall flat. A big chunk of people think a 5-10 quarterback should not go number one in the draft, but they’re fascinated to see how Kyler Murray will play.”

Kingsbury on Murray is the preseason: “It’s a challenge for Kyler. He wants to play. He wants to have success right away. He wants to light up every field he gets on. He’s been trying to get more put in to these game plans. ‘Are we game-planning this week? Are we game-planning? Can we do what we do?’ That’s been fun to see.”

 

ANTONIO BROWN’S HELMET

King: “The Raiders should put Antonio Brown on notice today by sending him the dreaded ‘five-day letter’…This letter would mean that Brown would have to return to the team by Friday and play with a league-approved helmet, or he would be put on the reserve/left squad list, meaning he couldn’t play for the Raiders or any team in 2019.”

Raiders GM Mike Mayock to reporters on Brown: “At this point we’ve pretty much exhausted all avenues of relief. So from our perspective it’s time for him to be all in or all out. We’re hoping he’s back soon.”

King: “Mayock is pissed off. [Jon] Gruden is pissed off. Maybe they can scotch-tape this together and Brown will pout a little and find a helmet that he’d tolerate; I suppose if he does and reports in the next couple of days, they’ve got to try to make it work. But when is the next time Mount Antonio’s going to blow? Make no mistake – it’ll happen.”

King on his visit to helmet-manufacturer Vicis: “I just know it’s hard to do the sort of R&D that the league and the union have done, with real NFL dollars finally behind the effort, and think it’s smart to wear a vintage helmet. The owners injected $60 million into developing better helmet technology in a five-year plan beginning is 2016.”

 

RICHARD SHERMAN

King: “Regardless of your leanings on Richard Sherman, he’s a player leader and member of the NFL Players Association executive board, and he matters these days. He matters for the 49ers, and he matters at the bargaining table with the owners as the two sides try to get a deal done in advance of the end of the current 10-year CBA that expires after the 2021 season.”

Richard Sherman on CBA negotiations: “I think these discussions have been much more amicable than the discussions in 2010, 2011, 2009 about the Collective Bargaining Agreement.”

Sherman: “The owners, even when we have intense disagreements on topics…Even when there’s an intense disagreement or guys not reaching the same conclusion on certain things, there’s more discussion.”

Sherman: “But I do think it’ll get done sooner than later. I don’t think that it’ll reach the deadline. And if it does, it’d be because something astronomically went wrong and things fell apart. At that point, there’s a lot of worry on both sides.”

 

ALL-INTERVIEW TEAM

King: “I talked to 116 people on the record and a few more off in the past month on my training camp tour, and here’s the fun part: picking the most loquacious and informative.”

Following are selections from King’s all-interview team:

RB: Phillip Lindsay, Broncos; Austin Ekeler, Chargers: “I love surprise stories and guys who made it against the odds. Two undrafted guys from Colorado – Lindsay from Colorado and Ekeler from Division II Western State – who did everything to just make the team. Ekeler told me he’d be working for a mining company if he wasn’t a Charger.”

TE: Zach Ertz, Eagles; George Kittle, 49ers: “This says volumes about Ertz: When we talked, he sounded prouder of being Mr. Julie Ertz cheering on his wife and her U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team in France than of setting the NFL record for catches in a season by an NFL tight end. Kittle’s so effervescent.”

DL: Grady Jarrett, Falcons; Cam Hayward, Saints; Brandon Graham, Eagles; Calais Campbell, Jaguars: “Factoid of the Trip: Graham told me he has a video of him strip-sacking Tom Brady in the biggest moment of Super Bowl LI on his phone, and when he’s having a bad day, he’ll watch it.”

Coach: Sean Payton, Saints; Dan Quinn, Falcons: “Payton was a cross between proud dad/facilitating coach/realtor showing off the improvements in the Saints facility for more than an hour… Quinn’s a born teacher. He showed us how much better the defense will be, on his big screen with the all-22 coaches tape, with Deion Jones back anchoring the linebackers.”

 

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

—FOOTBALL MORNING IN AMERICA—

 “I’ve been around a lot of crazy stories in the NFL in my 35 years covering the league. But the last nine months in the life of Antonio Brown is right up there.” – King on Antonio Brown

“Anyone who knows Jon Gruden knows he’s got to be frustrated over his best offensive weapon being disabled because of the freaky frostbite injury and fuming at Brown being AWOL.” – King

King Also Speaks with Sean Payton, Aaron Rodgers, Matt LaFleur and DeAndre Hopkins

FMIA Also Features Training Camp Visits to the Steelers, Saints, Packers and Texans

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 12, 2019 – Peter King shares his thoughts on Oakland wide receiver Antonio Brown, who recently filed a grievance against the NFL to continue to wear his old helmet which goes against NFL protocol, in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com.

In addition, King continues his training camp tour with a stop in Pittsburgh, where he speaks with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin about his coaching future and the team’s outlook without Brown.

King also travels to New Orleans and receives a tour of the Saints’ new training facility from coach Sean Payton, visits Green Bay to talk with Aaron Rodgers and new head coach Matt LaFleur, and chats with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in Houston.

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

 

ANTONIO BROWN’S HELMET

Peter King: “For Brown to be fighting this is just crazy. According to Adam Schefter, Brown had a two-hour grievance hearing Friday with an independent arbitrator, arguing that he should be able to wear a helmet he has been wearing for more than 10 years.”

King: “There isn’t much the league and players union agree on without reservation, but the current helmet protocol, the outgrowth of a $60-million investment by NFL owners in 2016 to improve helmet technology and reduce head trauma in players, is one of those things.”

Retired wide receiver Doug Baldwin on helmets: “If you have a helmet out there that is proven to be safer in a number of different ways, why wouldn’t you wear that helmet? In the grand scheme of things, I want to make sure I have all the marbles that I was born with to experience life and to enjoy life with my family and with my future children.”

King: “Anyone who knows Jon Gruden knows he’s got to be frustrated over his best offensive weapon being disabled because of the freaky frostbite injury and fuming at Brown being AWOL because the NFL is trying to make football safer for him.”

King: “The Steelers have to be the happiest team in the league right now. They don’t have a great player, but they do have a sane, undivided training camp.”

King: “I’ve been around a lot of crazy stories in the NFL in my 35 years covering the league. But the last nine months in the life of Antonio Brown is right up there.”

 

STEELERS CAMP

King: “Last year felt like mayhem from the start, with the Le’Veon Bell holdout marring the start and the Antonio Brown no-show in Week 17 marring the finish. Something had to give. That something was letting Bell walk, and the trade of Brown to Oakland. I think the Steelers are better off without both.”

King: “I’m bullish on the Steelers and the cheerful/optimistic Ben Roethlisberger – who, camp observers say, has been genuinely happy this summer – having a prolific season again…It’s understandable that he will miss the great Brown, but I also am told he is supremely motivated to prove he can be just as great without Brown than he was with him.”

Mike Tomlin on his future: “I love the job. I love the challenges it presents…In terms of longevity, I don’t think a lot about longevity. I just like to feel the urgency of now…I just want to be a really good football team here in 2019.”

Tomlin on the Steelers’ post-Antonio Brown era: “The winning, the losing, the challenges of the journey, is where the test will be. I feel really comfortable with this group, but time will tell with that story.”

 

SAINTS CAMP & NEW FACILITY

King on the Saints’ new facility: “It’s the kind of jewel, and this is the kind of team, that I believe could make Sean Payton a Saints lifer… The way Payton showed off this place for us, with such pride and excitement, I started to think he could grow old here, and be very happy.”

Payton on how the facility helps the team win: “I think what happens on the field is a byproduct of all the things that take place prior to the game – how we teach, how we practice, how we draft, how we put together a coaching staff. The facilities and the equipment sometimes is…affirmation that we’re committed to being real good. We’re committed to excellence.”

Payton on his 14-year tenure in New Orleans: “I think our game’s changed a lot and I think we’ve changed very quickly with it. How we teach a player today is a little different. The players are still coachable. I would say the player we identify with today who we feel like makes a good New Orleans Saint is the same player in ’06. That hasn’t changed.”

Payton: “The facility, it’s much like our computers. You might think you’ve got a recent one, and then in a very short period of time you’re like, [it’s obsolete]. It’s a little bit like those new Teslas. it’s fascinating.”

 

PACKERS CAMP

King: “Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur, vet quarterback and rookie coach…It’s got to be odd for LaFleur, who wants to play more of a tempo offense than Rodgers is used to, to come into Green Bay and tell one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, in his 15th NFL season, ‘Let’s do it this way.’”

LaFleur on his relationship with Rodgers: “From a play-caller’s mentality, I’ve always viewed that relationship as more of a partnership, because he plays the toughest position in all of sports, and you want to always be sure he’s comfortable with all that’s going on.”

Rodgers on LaFleur: “I tell him all the time, ‘You’re the boss.’ He usually retorts with the same, ‘No, it’s a partnership.’”

Rodgers on the new offense: “The NFL is a copycat league and there’s a lot of similar concepts. But it’s definitely different than the last 11 years and we’ve been doing. It’s fun. It’s stuff you’ve seen the Rams do and Atlanta do and San Fran. We all watch football. We’re all fans.”

 

TEXANS CAMP

Hopkins on how he trained his hands as a kid: “This is something I haven’t told many people, because it’s embarrassing. We always used to catch flies with our hands. I was the only one who could catch ‘em. One-handed, two-handed. I actually studied flies. I’d watch ‘em. ‘How do you catch flies?’ They fly up. If I can catch that, I can catch anything.”

Bill O’Brien on Hopkins: “There are games when he gets his jersey ripped off. Teams are so physical with him. What makes him special is so many plays are contested. People are draped on him, and he comes down with it.”

King: “I think the Texans need to trade for Washington left tackle Trent Williams, who is unhappy in Washington and threatening to not play this year. Houston’s time is now…He’d strengthen the only true weak point of this team.”

 

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

—FOOTBALL MORNING IN AMERICA—

 “One of the most impartial, fair, biting-when-necessary columnists ever to write about pro football.” – King on Don Banks

“Problem is, (the injury has) been lingering since April, and after three MRIs found nothing more severe than a strain…It’s still there.”
– King on Luck’s calf injury

FMIA Also Features Training Camp Visits to the Jaguars and Buccaneers

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 5, 2019 – Peter King pays tribute to longtime NFL reporter Don Banks, who passed away this weekend in Canton, Ohio where he was covering the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremonies, in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com.

In addition, King continues his training camp tour with a stop in Indianapolis, to speak with Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and head coach Frank Reich about Luck’s lingering calf injury.

King also travels to Jacksonville, where he speaks with defensive end Calais Campbell and cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and chats with Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston and head coach Bruce Arians in Tampa Bay.

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

 

REMEMBERING DON BANKS

Peter King: “Don Banks, one of the leading NFL reporters in the country, died suddenly on Sunday in Canton, Ohio. He was in Canton to cover the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremonies over the weekend, and his first story in his new job, as NFL columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was published in Sunday’s editions.”

King: “When he least expected it, the Review-Journal called this summer, and it was just what Don wanted – another shot at covering the NFL as one of the most impartial, fair, biting-when-necessary columnists ever to write about pro football…he was known for his absolute impartiality.”

King: “Friends are fleeting in this business. It’s competitive, and there are jealousies, and you’re lucky if you have four or five really good ones. Don was one of those for me.”

 

ANDREW LUCK’S CALF

King: “On the surface, the calf strain keeping Andrew Luck from practicing in training camp this week shouldn’t be too concerning…Problem is, it’s been lingering since April, and after three MRIs found nothing more severe than a strain, and after Luck has previously taken some time off to help it stop barking, it’s still there.”

Luck on if he’s worried about his recovery: “At times I do worry about it. It can be frustrating. The arc of an injury, whether it’s a big surgical one or something you’re rehabbing through. But no, because I’ve improved. Maybe I’m not improving as fast as I want and missing things is no fun. It eats at you.”

King: “I sense the only reason why the Colts aren’t more nervous this morning is because backup Jacoby Brissett is having a very good camp, and the franchise considers him a serviceable starter if he has to play.”

Frank Reich on Luck: “I think Andrew’s been in some really, really good offenses. But I don’t know if he’s ever been in an offense that wants to turn him loose like we’re going to turn him loose this year.”

Reich on player injuries: “As a former player and as a coach, it’s just always my instinct to trust the player. I really don’t lay awake at night thinking about it. When our players have injuries, I’m not the guy who’s asking every five minutes how they’re doing.”

 

JAGUARS CAMP

Calais Campbell on rookie Josh Allen: “This guy’s flashin’. He’s flashin’…The real deal. The real deal.”

Allen speaking to Campbell: “He’s teaching me everything! Everything…I’m not gonna disrespect you. But every time I watch you on film bro, just knowing you, knowing how you are…Damn. I watch you play, and you still got it. You got it! I watch you, and you’re like lights out. Still.”

King: “For Campbell, this is passing along what he knows to the next generation. If Allen down the road takes his job or even some of his playing time, Campbell will live. It’s what an unselfish veteran does with a promising rookie, and it will pay off for Allen long after Campbell retires. It’s a pay-it-forward thing.”

Jalen Ramsey on if he thinks he’s the best cornerback in football: “I know I am…A hundred percent.”

Ramsey on if he will play his whole career in Jacksonville: “(Smile, smirk.) ‘Maybe.’”

 

BUCCANEERS CAMP

King: “This has to be the most diverse coaching staff in NFL history. Thirty coaches. Eleven are African-American, including all three coordinators. Two are women.”

King: “One coaching staff already got fired because, among other things, coaches couldn’t turn the franchise quarterback around. The first pick in the 2015 draft, Jameis Winston, is in his crucial fifth season here. If Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich and quarterbacks coach Clyde Christianson can fix him and eliminate some of the mindless errors on his pro résumé, then Winston gets signed to a rich deal and leads this team into the future.”

Arians on what he tells Winston: “Twenty-one other guys are gonna play their tails off with you. You don’t have to do it all…Learn to take your checkdowns. Don’t try to be Superman on every play because you were the number one pick in the draft. You don’t have to be elite. Just play quarterback.”

Winston on the new staff’s emphasis: “Doing my job. Be a quarterback. Be a game manager when I need to. Be a playmaker when I need to…Cut my losses and throw the ball away when I need to. It’s a part of learning the game – understanding a throwaway is okay. If a defense gets you on a play, it’s okay.”

 

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

—FOOTBALL MORNING IN AMERICA—

Hall of Fame Game Opens NFL’s Historic 100th Season 

Coverage Features Interviews with 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class 

NBC Sports Ramps Up Coverage with Peter King’s Training Camp Tour as Preseason Begins

STAMFORD, Conn. – July 30, 2019 – NBC Sports’ 2019 NFL preseason coverage kicks off this Thursday, Aug. 1, when the Atlanta Falcons face the Denver Broncos in the 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game from Canton, Ohio, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Denver’s Vic Fangio makes his head coaching debut after 32 years as NFL assistant, including spending the past four seasons as Chicago’s defensive coordinator, and Broncos rookie QB Drew Lock, a second-round draft pick, is expected to make his NFL preseason debut.

Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his record 34^th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 16-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth; and three-time Emmy Award-winning sideline reporter Michele Tafoya call Falcons-Broncos from Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Three-time Super Bowl referee Terry McAulay returns as Sunday Night Football’s rules analyst and will join Michaels and Collinsworth in the booth.

In addition, Hall of Fame coach and NBC analyst Tony Dungy will join Michaels and Collinsworth during the second half.

Thursday night’s telecast will feature live interviews with select members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019, which includes former Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey, former Falcons and Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, cornerback Ty Law, center Kevin Mawae, safeties Ed Reed and Johnny Robinson and contributors Gil Brandt and late Broncos owner Pat Bowlen.

NBC’s second preseason game will air on Sunday, Aug. 25, at 8 p.m. ET, and features the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans from Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

As the preseason begins, NBC Sports’ Peter King continues his league-wide Training Camp Tour, which began last week when King attended Broncos camp and spoke with Fangio and All-Pro linebacker Von Miller. Over a 37-day span, beginning in Denver last Friday, July 19, King will visit 22 different training camp sites and one preseason game. Throughout King’s cross-country trip, which culminates in Minnesota on Saturday, August 24, when the Cardinals face the Vikings in a preseason matchup, he will observe team practices, interview players and coaches and participate in local attractions.

NBC Sports’ Chris Simms will join King on select training camp visits, including to Browns camp on August 6 and Steelers camp on August 7. More details and coverage of King’s Training Camp Tour can be found here.

# # #

 

Highlights of the 2019 Sunday Night Football schedule:

 

• All 18 scheduled NBC SNF games feature at least one 2018 playoff team (Week 17 game TBD) – up from 14 such matchups last year. In addition, nine contests feature both clubs from the 2018 postseason, highlighted by a rematch of last year’s AFC Divisional Playoff, as Andrew Luck and the Colts again visit Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs (Oct. 6).

 

• All 2018 NFL playoff teams are on the NBC SNF schedule, including three games each for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, NFC champion Los Angeles Rams, AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs, NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys, NFC North champion Chicago Bears, and NFC Wild Card Philadelphia Eagles.

 

• Matchup milestones: Eagles-Cowboys on Oct. 20 is the 13^th meeting between the clubs on SNF – ranking as the most-played matchup in NBC SNF history (since 2006). In addition, it marks the 11^th consecutive season for the matchup on SNF – the longest streak for any matchup on the broadcast primetime package in NFL history (ABC 1970-2005; NBC 2006-present).

 

• Other notable games: Roethlisberger and the Steelers battle 2004 Draft classmate Philip Rivers and the Chargers in Los Angeles on Oct. 13; 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs face Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 27 in a rematch of the two teams who faced off in Super Bowl I; Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints visit Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons on Thanksgiving night, after the clubs met in New Orleans last year on the holiday; and NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald and the Rams host the Bears on Nov. 17 as they look to avenge last year’s Week 14 SNF loss in Chicago.

 

• The SNF slate features multiple appearances by star QBs Russell Wilson of the Seahawks, Jared Goff of the Rams, Dak Prescott of the Cowboys, and Carson Wentz of the Eagles.

 

• First SNF Game in Cleveland in 11 Years: On Sept. 22, NBC will broadcast its first Browns game in Cleveland since 2008, as Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham, Jr. and Jarvis Landry face the NFC champion Los Angeles Rams. The game also marks the Browns’ 2019 primetime debut at home.

 

• Celebrating the NFL’s 100^th Season – In addition to the Packers-Bears NFL Kickoff matchup on NBC, and the only two teams to win six Super Bowls (Steelers and Patriots) featured in the SNF opener, the Oct. 27 Rodgers-Mahomes QB showdown highlights Packers vs. Chiefs – the two teams who faced off in Super Bowl I on January 15, 1967.

 

NBC TO BROADCAST 23 NFL GAMES IN 2019: As part of the agreement NBC signed with the NFL in December 2011, the network will broadcast 19 regular-season games, including 17 regular-season Sunday Night Football games, NFL Kickoff 2019, and the annual Thanksgiving night game. NBC’s original Sunday Night Football agreement, which began in 2006, included 17 regular-season games. It was increased to 18 games in 2010. NBC will broadcast a Divisional Playoff game and a Wild Card Playoff game. In the preseason, NBC will televise the NFL Hall of Fame Game (Falcons-Broncos) in primetime on Thursday, Aug. 1, and Steelers-Titans on Sunday night, Aug. 25.

 

NBCSPORTS.COM & NBC SPORTS APP TO LIVE STREAM ALL NBC NFL GAMES: NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream all NBC games to desktops, mobile, tablets, and connected TVs via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The full HD-quality video stream will come directly from NBC’s broadcasts. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are powered by Playmaker Media and available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, and Chromecast.

 

NBC’S “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” IS PRIMETIME TELEVISION’S NO. 1 SHOW FOR UNPRECEDENTED EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR: NBC’s Sunday Night Football finished the 2018-19 TV season as primetime’s #1 TV show in all key metrics for an unprecedented eighth consecutive year – adding to its record for the most consecutive years atop the charts (since 1950), based on official live plus same day data provided by Nielsen. Sunday Night Football also ranked as the No. 1 show in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic for the ninth consecutive TV season.

 

2019 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Thurs. Sept. 5	NFL Kickoff	Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
Sun. Sept. 8	Week 1	Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
Sun. Sept. 15	Week 2	Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons
Sun. Sept. 22	Week 3	Los Angeles Rams at Cleveland Browns
Sun. Sept. 29	Week 4	Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints
*Sun. Oct. 6	Week 5	Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs
*Sun. Oct. 13	Week 6	Pittsburgh Steelers at Los Angeles Chargers
*Sun. Oct. 20	Week 7	Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
*Sun. Oct. 27	Week 8	Green Bay Packers at Kansas City Chiefs
*Sun. Nov. 3	Week 9	New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens
*Sun. Nov. 10	Week 10	Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys
*Sun. Nov. 17	Week 11	Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams
*Sun. Nov. 24	Week 12	Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles
**Thurs. Nov. 28	Week 13	New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons
*Sun. Dec. 1	Week 13	New England Patriots at Houston Texans
*Sun. Dec. 8	Week 14	Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams
*Sun. Dec. 15	Week 15	Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Chargers
*Sun. Dec. 22	Week 16	Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago Bears
*Sun. Dec. 29	Week 17	TBD

*Flex Week
** Thanksgiving Night Game

 

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING: Flexible scheduling will be used in Weeks 11-17. Additionally, in Weeks 5-10, flexible scheduling may be used in no more than two weeks. In Weeks 5-16, the schedule lists the games tentatively set for Sunday Night Football on NBC. Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game would be moved to an afternoon start time. Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday or Monday nights.

A flexible scheduling move would be announced at least 12 days before the game. For Week 17, the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to December 29. The schedule does not list a Sunday night game in Week 17, but an afternoon game with playoff implications will be moved to that time slot. Flexible scheduling ensures quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks, and gives “surprise” teams a chance to play their way into prime time.

 

–NBC SPORTS–