“That’s all anyone ever wants is just objective standards that apply to everyone who’s applying so that the opportunities are equal.” – Maria Taylor on hiring NFL head coaches

 “You need someone with integrity. You need people that are going to have the respect of the staff and players and bring that diversity of the locker room together.” – Tony Dungy on NFL head coaches

“The most important thing though is caring. Caring about your players. They’ll only care once they know how much you care, and it’s not just what they do on the field, it’s more importantly who they are as people.” – Drew Brees on head coaching qualities

STAMFORD, Conn. – October 17, 2021 – NBC Sports’ presentation of Week 6 of the 2021 NFL season began tonight from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa., with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Seahawks-Steelers on Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock.

Maria Taylor hosted FNIA from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn. She was joined by Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, Super Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees, and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms.

Two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison joined co-host Jac Collinsworth at the site of the game. NFL Insider Mike Florio provided reports from his home studio.

For the first time ever, Football Night in America and Sunday Night Football are streaming on Peacock Premium every week this season. Viewers can sign up here. Peacock Premium is included at no additional cost for Comcast’s eligible Xfinity X1 and Flex customers and Cox Contour customers.

Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Michele Tafoya (sideline reporter) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) are calling tonight’s game. Al Michaels has the night off.

NBC Sports’ new post-game show Peacock Sunday Night Football Final streams tonight exclusively on Peacock following Sunday Night Football.

***

Following are highlights from tonight’s edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:

ON JON GRUDEN SITUATION AND HIRING SYSTEM FOR NFL HEAD COACHES

Florio: “There’s one area of confusion that has lingered since this all started. A lot of people believe it began because of the leak of one email, an email from Jon Gruden to former Washington president Bruce Allen about NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, that that’s what started all of this. The truth is, the NFL had already flagged emails from Jon Gruden, gathered them and was in the process of sending them to the Raiders at the time this first leaked. There are many who wonder that if it had never leaked, would anything have ever been done about it…The league insists that it has not leaked anything, but the truth here is only a small handful of people have had access to these emails, 650,000 of them generated through the Washington Football Team investigation. The league won’t say whether it’s investigating but, again, not many have (access). The league also says they won’t be releasing any of these emails. Many say they should. Until they are, there’s a chance that some of the leaks we’ve already seen could happen again.”

Taylor on the NFL emails: “Obviously transparency is key, sunlight is the best disinfectant, which is why it’s imperative to continue to see other emails from that investigation. Let’s go back to the Gruden email. It’s really not the email itself, it’s just the beginning, it’s a cancer cell. Basically, if that cell is able to fester, then it could be insidious and take over things like hiring practices – that same mindset can infest hiring practices or whether or not minorities are allowed to have leadership positions, or women for that matter. So that kind of moves the ball forward into the Raiders opening up their hiring process for a new head coach.”

Dungy: “What you described is exactly right, (it’s) the process. It just seems to me that what the NFL looks at — these owners — many times they’re looking for the media celebrity, the big name, the dominant personality. The two big stories we’ve had in coaching have been Urban Meyer and Jon Gruden this year, and they’re results of that and that’s not the best way to do it. What you need in the head coaching position is leadership. You need someone with integrity. You need people that are going to have the respect of the staff and players and bring that diversity of the locker room together.”

Brees: “You need someone who can build the right culture. From a veteran player’s perspective, the way I look at – what do I want in our leader, in our head coach? They have to be a great communicator. Someone that has the ability to communicate the vision and create the path by which you are going to achieve that. The other thing is coordination. Just like with a company coordinating the departments, on an NFL team, it’s the offense, the defense, the special teams. How are we bringing them all together? How are they complementing one another? How are they all working together? And the most important thing though is caring. Caring about your players. They’ll only care once they know how much you care, and it’s not just what they do on the field, it’s more importantly who they are as people. And I know plenty of minority assistant coaches who fit that bill and would make great head coaches.”

Dungy: “No doubt about it. There are guys like Joe Woods in Cleveland. I know those Cleveland players, I’ve talked to the team, I know how they feel about him. Byron Leftwich in Tampa…I live in Tampa and I hear Tom Brady talking all the time about how special this guy is — but he’s not a big name. These are the guys we have to get opportunities for.”

Taylor: “And speaking of those minority candidates, I spoke to a young Black assistant in the NFL and he hopes to one day be actually out there with an opportunity to interview for head coaching jobs, but he said he feels like the goal posts are always moving. At the beginning, you’re being told that you have to be able to call plays, and then you have the offensive coordinator at Kansas City, Eric Bieniemy, and the report back is that he’s not a good interviewer. And his (point) is, ok, well maybe people are uncomfortable in the room with him, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad interviewer. And his question was, ‘Are we just being tolerated as minority candidates or are we being empowered?’ That’s something that the NFL has to take seriously, and that was a big concern…The (tip) of the iceberg is the email, but obviously everything deeper is the culture, the things that we’re talking about here.”

Dungy: “I think we have to have a game plan of how we’re going to do this and look for the best candidates. We’ve got a perfect example tonight with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I worked in that organization a long time. Dan Rooney, the late owner, hired three coaches in 50 years. They all went to Super Bowls, they all won, but he had a formula. He wanted tough, young, aggressive defensive coaches. So, he hired Chuck Noll when he was in his 30s, he hired Bill Cowher when he was in his 30s. The last time he looked for a head coach, he had a lot of offensive coaches on his staff that were great coaches, but he said I’m going to stick with my formula. I’m going to look for the best young coach and picked out an unknown guy named Mike Tomlin. I think that worked out pretty well.”

Taylor: “That’s all anyone ever wants is just objective standards that apply to everyone who’s applying so that the opportunities are equal and that’s what we hope we have moving forward.”

ON STEELERS

Dungy on the Steelers offense: “For Pittsburgh, that 39-year old quarterback Ben Roethlisberger needs help. He needs a running game. Last week, they had a dominant running game. Will that show up again tonight?”

Harrison on Steelers rookie RB Najee Harris: “Just watching him play, he is so motivated because he plays so hard…If you’re an offensive lineman, how do you not get pumped up when this kid is fighting and clawing trying to get every inch and every yard? I love this kid.”

Harrison on the Steelers defense: “Their mindset has to be they have to win the game. They can no longer count on Big Ben and this offense to pull out games.”

Simms on Roethlisberger’s struggles: “Know who you are…So far this year, when Big Ben has been in the pocket trying to buy time like old Big Ben and pumps the ball everywhere, it leads to disastrous things.”

Brees on the Steelers offense: “The Steelers offense wants to throw the ball down the seams, up the field, and that’s something that Big Ben can still do.”

ON SEAHAWKS

Brees on Seahawks QB Geno Smith: “You don’t think Geno Smith has been waiting for this opportunity? He’s been biding his time, playing behind some really good starters, learning a lot, but here’s a guy who still prepared himself as a starter and he knows this offense. He’s ready to take advantage of this opportunity tonight.”

Harrison on Seahawks QB Geno Smith: “I’m not worried about Geno Smith. He’s been in this system almost three years. He’s a veteran player…He’s looking for this opportunity. I think he’ll be fine.”

Dungy on the defense’s inability to generate turnovers and big plays: “They aren’t getting any of those. That’s what they’ve got to do, find some playmakers. I don’t know where, but that’s what they’ve got to do.”

Brees on the defense: “They just don’t do anything really well…They’re going to have to be able to stop this Steelers run game that has started to kick up, and I don’t think they match up very well outside. They play a lot of one-on-one coverage and there’s just too many weapons on that Steelers side of the ball.”

Harrison on Seahawks S Jamal Adams: “He was frustrated because he wanted to be more involved in the defensive game plan…What you have to do with Jamal Adams is get him moving forward. Put him on the line of scrimmage where he can have one-on-one opportunities against running backs, against tight ends. This is where he’s at his very best, and he told me that he’ll be a lot more involved tonight.”

Dungy on Seahawks LB Bobby Wagner’s work with HBCU football programs: “I asked Bobby why HBCUs because he’s not an HBCU grad. He said, ‘I just love the history and I think some of these young men need an opportunity.’”

ON RAIDERS

Taylor on the Raiders: “Tumultuous week, but the Raiders coming out strong.”

Brees on win vs. Broncos: “They really came together this week as a team. Made plays on both sides of the ball, going on the road, great win in the division.”

ON COWBOYS

Simms: “Mistakes were the theme for Dallas early on. They moved the ball up and down the field on the New England Patriots. In fact, Coach (Dungy) and I were saying, ‘I’ve never seen a team dominate like this and they’re losing by seven.’”

Dungy on Cowboys QB Dak Prescott: “He didn’t get discouraged, he just kept coming back and making plays…Dak Prescott just played outstanding today in a big situation.”

Brees on the Cowboys defense: “I’ve been really impressed with this Dallas defense and the way that they’ve responded this year. Lightyears change from what they were last year, and how about Trevon Diggs? This guy’s unbelievable. If he’s close to the ball, he’s coming down with it.”

Simms on CB Trevon Diggs (who had an INT-TD): “I’ve never seen anything like this…It seems like it’s every week. He has unbelievable ball skills.”

ON RAVENS

Harrison on the Ravens’ defense vs. the Chargers: “They were outstanding today in stopping one of the hottest quarterbacks in the National Football League. They did a great job of coming up, disguising, dropping guys in coverage. It looked like Justin Herbert was confused. He didn’t know what was going on.”

Brees on the Ravens’ rushing attack: “Obviously, this is a plug-and-play running back offense because you’ve got Lamar Jackson. He accounts for at least one or two defenders every play.”

Dungy on the Ravens’ defense: “Great pass rush, pressure from all over the place, and then this tight coverage…They did the best job on Justin Herbert I’ve seen all year.”

ON CARDINALS

Simms: “There’s weapons galore on the (offensive) side of the ball, but the defense was really impressive today. They harassed Baker Mayfield…They’re for real on both sides of the ball.”

Dungy: “Is anybody playing better than Kyler Murray right now? I don’t think so.”

ON RAMS

Simms: “The hottest combination we’ve seen in the NFL this year – Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp.”

ON BENGALS

Simms: “I think everyone keeps expecting them to fall off, ‘They’re the Bengals. They’re not going to keep winning, right?’ No, they’re here to stay. They’re too good on the offensive side of the ball and they’ve got talent on the defensive side of the ball. So, we’d better get used to talking about them.”

Brees on believing in the Bengals: “I absolutely do. I think Joe Burrow and this cast of weapons on offense will continue to build chemistry and only get better.”

Simms on QB Joe Burrow and WR Ja’Marr Chase: “This is the best big-play combo we’ve seen in football so far this year. I feel like I’m talking about these two every week.”

Brees: “This could have been a letdown game for the Bengals of the past, but not this year.”

ON CHIEFS

Simms: “He wasn’t perfect today, but we did see that (QB Patrick) Mahomes magic once again today for Kansas City.”

Brees on the Chiefs offense and Mahomes’ turnovers: “You have to acknowledge that it’s a problem, and it’s gotten you beat three times this year. The turnovers and the sloppy play. Call it a difference in the way defenses are playing these guys, but they have to acknowledge these are the things that will get them beat.”

ON PACKERS

Brees: “This is when they went to the next level…Aaron Jones and this run game. Their ability to create these explosive plays has been a big difference maker for them.”

ON COLTS

Simms on the Colts’ 31-3 win vs. the Texans: “You’re seeing this Colts offense – I know they’re 2-4, but I think they’re a dangerous 2-4 football team going forward.”

Simms on the Colts’ big-play offense with the return of WR T.Y. Hilton: “They need him back, they do. This is a part of the offense they missed over the first five weeks. Hopefully T.Y. can provide that for them.”

ON JAGUARS

Florio on the Jaguars’ win and final drive under QB Trevor Lawrence: “Let’s set the stage. It was 20-20, there were five seconds left, it’s fourth-and-eight from the Miami 44, and the Jaguars were planning to throw it to the endzone. Trevor Lawrence told me he didn’t want to do that. So, Miami calls a timeout – gives the Jaguars a chance to change their mind, and on that play, you had the receivers covered about six yards off the ball. There was a defensive back in the middle that Trevor Lawrence had to manipulate with his eyes before the play because he didn’t have time to do it during the play. It worked, they got the first down, kicked the field goal, and finally got a win.”

ON DOLPHINS

Simms: “Tua (Tagovailoa) played really well today. He energized this offense. It’s been stagnant so far this year.”

–FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA–

“I see this like Bulls-Pistons in the early ‘90s.” – Drew Brees on Bills-Chiefs

“The first thing you have to do is change the culture and you don’t change the culture by not flying home with the team. Twenty-eight years in the NFL and I’ve never heard of that.” – Tony Dungy on Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer

“This Browns running game may be as good as any in football.” – Chris Simms

STAMFORD, Conn. – October 10, 2021 – NBC Sports’ presentation of Week 5 of the 2021 NFL season began tonight from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Bills-Chiefs on Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock.

Mike Tirico hosted FNIA from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn. He was joined at the desk by Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy and Super Bowl XLV MVP Drew Brees. Co-host Maria Taylor was joined in Studio 1 by former NFL quarterback Chris Simms.

Two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison – who held his own umbrella in the rain before getting an assist from Chiefs mascot K.C. Wolf – joined co-host Jac Collinsworth at the site of the game. NFL Insider Mike Florio provided reports from his home studio.

Pre-game coverage featured Taylor’s interview with Bills QB Josh Allen. Click here to watch the interview.

For the first time ever, Football Night in America and Sunday Night Football are streaming on Peacock Premium every week this season. Viewers can sign up here. Peacock Premium is included at no additional cost for Comcast’s eligible Xfinity X1 and Flex customers and Cox Contour customers.

Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Michele Tafoya (sideline reporter) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) are calling tonight’s game.

NBC Sports’ new post-game show Peacock Sunday Night Football Final streams tonight exclusively on Peacock following Sunday Night Football.

***

Following are highlights from tonight’s edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:

ON BILLS-CHIEFS

Dungy on the Bills: “They have to understand the gap is not that big. They’ve played close games against the Chiefs, they just haven’t done it when it counts. I think Josh Allen is in the same place that Lamar Jackson was in Week 2 – you’ve got a great team, you’re playing well, but you’ve got to beat the Chiefs. He’s just got to relax and play his game tonight.”

Brees on the matchup: “I see this like Bulls-Pistons in the early ‘90s…the Chiefs have been a nemesis to the Buffalo Bills, but the Bills have improved, their defense is playing lights out and this is that opportunity for them to get over the hump…will this be the night where they can beat the Chiefs?”

Dungy on the Chiefs’ 2-2 start: “It’s kind of a Super Bowl hangover. My first meeting in the NFL as a player, Chuck Noll is my coach and he says, ‘You don’t win championships making extraordinary plays, you do the ordinary things better than everyone else.’ That’s where Kansas City is struggling to me.”

Brees on the Bills’ defense vs. Mahomes: “When you do get a free rusher, you have to find a way to keep Mahomes in the pocket and get him down. Don’t allow him to buy time and make the play…When you do have the opportunity to get Mahomes down, you have to because if he can extend the play, it’s going to be a long day.”

Dungy: “Blitzing is suicide against these guys. Look for Buffalo to play this four-man rush and count on those defensive lineman to get Mahomes down.”

Harrison on Arrowhead Stadium: “I played at a lot of stadiums, this is the loudest stadium I’ve ever played in.”

ON RAIDERS

Mike Florio on head coach Jon Gruden’s reported comments on NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith: “Some in the league office feel that Jon Gruden won’t be suspended by the league. Even though a very strong statement was issued on Friday by the NFL, this happened at a time when he was employed by no NFL teams. The Raiders could possibly take action, but again, this is something that occurred in 2011, years before he returned to the Raiders as a head coach.”

Dungy on Gruden: “We heard Jon Gruden say he addressed this, he gave his side of it. He said that it wasn’t racial, he was making a comment about DeMaurice Smith and he basically attacked his character. I would accept that and just say that it was an immature way to do it, it wasn’t the right way to do it. It was 10 years ago and I’m not going to chalk everything up to racism. I think we accept his apology, move forward and move on just like he did with his team.”

Tirico on Gruden: “In being honest with the audience, I think I should weigh in a little bit here because I was with Jon at that time. (He spent) seven years as my partner on Monday Night Football – I probably know Jon better than anyone in the league on a personal level. He said he was ashamed by the comments in the email. The comments in the email are wrong. But my experience kind of parallels Tim Brown, who played for Jon, a Hall of Fame wide receiver. He said he never experienced or saw anything that would say Jon was racist in any way. That is exactly the experience I had those seven years, traveling three days together on the road every week.”

ON JAGUARS

Dungy on QB Trevor Lawrence’s performance vs. the Titans: “This is what you like to see from Trevor Lawrence – quick decisions, accurate throws. He’s getting better and better.”

Dungy on circumstances surrounding head coach Urban Meyer: “I took over a team in Tampa that had 13 straight losing seasons, just like Urban Meyer stepped into a tough situation. The first thing you have to do is change the culture and you don’t change the culture by not flying home with the team. Twenty-eight years in the NFL and I’ve never heard of that. You’ve got to be there for your team all the time.”

Brees: “You need to foster that foundation of feeling like you’re doing everything you can to put your team in the best position to win. At the end of the day, the most successful teams are the ones that are player-led. You can see them starting to come together…I know they’re winless, but I think they need to be encouraged with watching their quarterback continue to develop…even though it hasn’t resulted in wins yet, I think this a team that will have success as the season goes on.”

ON SAINTS

Brees on the Saints’ offense: “It was a little sloppy. I don’t see just the rhythm, tempo passing game that just complements the run game. You get some of these splash plays, and then you get some of these well-timed, well-designed third-down plays…But besides that, the first- and second-down moving the ball, possessing the ball, just haven’t really seen that rhythm here over the last few weeks.”

ON STEELERS

Dungy on QB Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers’ offense: “The big play came back today in the passing game today…These passes are a result of the running game being effective, 147 yards rushing today really got that offense going.”

ON BROWNS

Simms on the Browns’ running game: “The two-headed monster. (Nick) Chubb and (Kareem) Hunt were phenomenal in the football game. This Browns running game may be as good as any in football.”

ON BEARS

Simms on rookie QB Justin Fields: “He looked good today. High-percentage passes, run the ball and play through your defense – Chicago, you’re going to have a chance to win every week (if you do those things).”

ON PACKERS

Simms: “The ways that Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense can constantly get Davante Adams the football is truly amazing. It helps everything else in their offense…the ability to find ways to get the ball to Adams is as impressive as there is in the NFL.”

ON PATRIOTS

Simms: “The big thing in New England is, who can make a play? On both sides of the ball. Every drive has to be three, and four, and five yards at a time, and it’s just hard living that way. I think that’s something we’ve got to keep our eye on…to just take a little pressure off them always having to execute over and over and over.”

ON BUCCANEERS

Brees: “FYI, do not play man-to-man coverage against this team if you cannot get pressure on the quarterback. There are just too many weapons on the field, and when given time, Tom Brady is going to find them.”

ON COWBOYS

Dungy on QB Dak Prescott: “He’s playing with great confidence and he has a chemistry with these receivers now.”

ON CARDINALS

Dungy on Arizona’s 17-10 win over San Francisco: “Sometimes when the offense isn’t clicking – this is a team used to scoring points in bunches – their defense steps up and kept them in the game.”

ON 49ERS

Dungy on rookie QB Trey Lance’s first start: “Lance did some good things offensively, but he was inconsistent throwing the ball and he missed some open receivers.”

ON BENGALS

Simms on rookie WR Ja’Marr Chase: “He took a lot of flak all preseason, right? He can catch, we know that, and if you leave him one-on-one, he is becoming a nightmare that way. You can’t cover him one-on-one. His ability to accelerate off the line of scrimmage is as good as anyone in football.”

Florio on QB Joe Burrow’s injury: “Burrow was taken to a hospital for evaluation for a throat contusion. I’m told the team believes he was poked in the throat at some point. Before he was evaluated at the hospital, he expressed a belief that everything will be fine.”

ON EAGLES

Harrison: “The last time I talked about their defense, they won the Super Bowl. But they were outstanding today…I’m surprised by the Philadelphia Eagles defense – they did a great job today.”

ON FALCONS

Simms on rookie TE Kyle Pitts: “That was a familiar combination all day – it was (Matt) Ryan to (Kyle) Pitts…Who throws posts down the middle to the tight end in a big situation? He’s unreal.”

JOSH ALLEN WITH MARIA TAYLOR

Allen on his throwback pre-game playlist which includes Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Billy Joel: “I’ve got seven songs that I have to listen to right before I come out – Can’t Help Falling In Love With You (Elvis Presley), She’s Not You (Elvis Presley), The Stranger (Billy Joel), That’s Life (Frank Sinatra), Put Your Head On My Shoulder (Paul Anka), Fly Me To The Moon (Frank Sinatra), and The Joker (Sammy Davis Jr.)… It keeps me calm, it keeps my heart rate down. I play better when I’m loose and relaxed.”

Allen on his love for movies and how his “videographic memory” helps him read opposing defenses: “I have so many different movies that I just absolutely love. Some people have photographic memories, I almost have a ‘videographic memory’ where I can watch movies in my head.  

Taylor: “Does it translate to the field at all? What does that look like?”

Allen: “If we see a clip on film, I can cue back and see if they’re pressed a little on this side, I say, ‘I saw that clip, I saw him run out and then they brought two people…’ so then I just get the protection set and trust the rules.”

Allen on growing up working on a farm and his least favorite farm chore: “Moving irrigation pipes. It’s 110-degree weather, extremely hot, you have to wear long sleeves because if you touch it with your bare skin it’s going to burn you. You’re just picking it up and putting it on. So you’re sweating, it’s hot…it’s brutal.”

Taylor: “So preseason camp is nothing for you then (laughs).”

–FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA–