Carrie Underwood, the Star of the SNF Show Open, to be Interviewed by Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth on Football Night in America

Coverage Begins with FNIA at 7 p.m. ET; Followed by 8:20 p.m. ET Kickoff

NFL Sundays Begin and End on Peacock with Exclusive Coverage Featuring Fantasy Football Pregame with Matthew Berry at 11 a.m. ET and Peacock Sunday Night Football Final Immediately After Each SNF Game

STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 20, 2023 – Jimmy Garoppolo and the Las Vegas Raiders (1-1) host Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) in a historic rivalry game in the Week 3 edition of NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with Football Night in America, followed by kickoff at 8:20 p.m. ET from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on NBC, Peacock and Universo.

Following a Week 1 win against the Denver Broncos, the Raiders fell to the Buffalo Bills, 38-10, on the road last weekend. Garoppolo threw for 185 yards and a touchdown, while three-time All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams had 84 receiving yards and a score on six receptions, surpassing Larry Fitzgerald for the fifth-most touchdown receptions by a player in his first 10 seasons in NFL history (88). Las Vegas is currently tied with Kansas City for first place in the AFC West.

The Steelers defeated the division rival Cleveland Browns, 26-22, on Monday night. Pickett threw for 222 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown pass to WR George Pickens, who had 127 receiving yards on the night, while 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt recovered a fumble for what would turn out to be the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Las Vegas and Pittsburgh meet for the 32^nd time (including the postseason) on Sunday, with the Raiders holding a 17-14 advantage. From 1972-1976, these two teams met in the playoffs a record five consecutive seasons in what was one of the bitter rivalries of the 1970s, fueled in part by the “Immaculate Reception,” the miracle touchdown catch by Steelers wide receiver Franco Harris from Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw during a 1972 AFC Divisional Playoff game.

Calling Steelers-Raiders is Mike Tirico (play-by-play); 17-time Emmy Award winner Cris Collinsworth (analyst); and Melissa Stark (sideline reporter). Three-time Super Bowl referee Terry McAulay is the Sunday Night Football rules analyst.

On Football Night in America, Tirico and Collinsworth will interview Carrie Underwood, the star of the Sunday Night Football show open for 11 consecutive seasons. Underwood, in the midst of her ongoing residency, REFLECTION, at The Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas, will attend Steelers-Raiders on Sunday night.

NBC’s coverage of Sunday Night Football is led by executive producer Rob Hyland and director Drew Esocoff. SNF has won a record 11 Sports Emmys for Outstanding Live Sports Series.

Football Night in America is hosted by Maria Taylor and features former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, three-time Super Bowl champion Devin McCourty, and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, as well as Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison, NFL insider Mike Florio, fantasy sports industry pioneer Matthew Berry, and co-host Jac Collinsworth.

Football Night, the most-watched studio show in sports since its debut in 2006, begins every Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. The coordinating producer of FNIA is Matt Casey. FNIA is directed by Kaare Numme.

Peacock exclusively bookends NFL coverage every Sunday with Fantasy Football Pregame with Matthew Berry at 11 a.m. ET and its exclusive postgame show, Peacock Sunday Night Football Final following each Sunday Night Football game.

PEACOCK TO STREAM EXCLUSIVE REGULAR-SEASON AND WILD CARD GAME; WILL LIVE STREAM ALL NBC NFL GAMES THIS SEASON

Peacock is set to make history twice this season, with the first time being in Week 16 with the first-ever Peacock-exclusive regular season NFL game featuring Josh Allen and the Bills visiting Justin Herbert and the Chargers on Saturday, Dec. 23. Peacock will also be home to the first-ever exclusive live streamed NFL Playoff game during Wild Card Weekend on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. All of NBC Sports’ NFL regular -season games, playoff games, and Football Night in America will also stream live on Peacock this season.

Peacock features a slate of sports talk content NFL fans can enjoy on the NBC Sports channel, which is free to stream. Shows include Brother from Another, as well as The Dan Patrick Show, PFT Live, PFT PM, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry, The Peter King Podcast, and Chris Simms Unbuttoned.

To learn more about the NFL on Peacock, including how to watch and sign up, click here.

NBCSPORTS.COM & NBC SPORTS APP TO LIVE STREAM ALL NBC NFL GAMES

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream live coverage to desktops, mobile, tablets, and connected TVs via authentication, 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 available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, and Chromecast.

TELEMUNDO DEPORTES TO PRESENT ENTIRE NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE, INCLUDING PLAYOFFS

Telemundo Deportes will again provide exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the entire NBC Sunday Night Football package with 20 regular season games, including this Thursday’s NFL Kickoff Game, 18 regular-season Sunday Night Football games, and the annual Thanksgiving night game, which will air on Telemundo. Telemundo Deportes will present four playoff matchups, including a Divisional Playoff game and three Wild Card Playoff games. NBC Sports’ NFL games this season will also be available on live stream via TelemundoDeportes.com and the Telemundo Deportes app.

Telemundo Deportes’s SNF announce team consists of Emmy-award winning sports journalist and play-by-play announcer Miguel Gurwitz and former Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Rolando Cantu this season with Ariana Figuera serving as analyst and supporting pre- and post-game studio coverage. Emmy-nominated Ana Jurka joins the team as host.

PETER KING’S NFL COLUMN “FOOTBALL MORNING IN AMERICA” DEBUTS EVERY MONDAY EXCLUSIVELY ON NBCSPORTS.COM

A new “Football Morning in America” will post every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com. It was announced in May 2019 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 PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports. The Peter King Podcast streams weekly on Peacock on Thursdays at 6 p.m. ET.

CHRIS SIMMS UNBUTTONED

NBC Sports’ Chris Simms examines everything happening in the NFL and around the sports world. Along with a rotation of NBC Sports hosts including Ahmed Fareed and Paul Burmeister, Chris Simms Unbuttoned analyses the NFL with in-depth Xs and Os breakdowns; one-on-one interviews with players, coaches and executives; and game recaps and preview. The show is available to stream on Peacock on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and is also available in podcast form here.

FANTASY FOOTBALL HAPPY HOUR WITH MATTHEW BERRY

Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry, NBC Sports’ daily fantasy football and sports betting show, streams every weekday every weekday at Noon ET on Peacock. “Fantasy Football Happy Hour” discusses the most newsworthy fantasy football and sports betting topics and is co-hosted by Jay Croucher and features analysis and advice from regular guests including NBC Sports’ Chris Simms, Mike Florio and Peter King, NBC Sports EDGE’s Denny Carter, Pat Daugherty, Vaughn Dalzell, Lawrence Jackson, and more.  The show, which is available on all major podcast platforms and via NBC Sports Audio on SiriusXM Radio, features fantasy football rankings, start/sit suggestions, waiver wire advice, betting futures, player props, and more.

ROTOWORLD

Rotoworld, the industry-leading source for fantasy football news and information, , offers comprehensive fantasy football and betting coverage throughout the 2023 NFL season across NBC Sports’ platforms. The 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Guide, featuring the most comprehensive player profiles, ranking and projections in the industry plus Matthew Berry’s annual “100 Facts” article and additional exclusive content from Rotoworld’s team of expert analysts, is available now. Click here for more information.

PFT LIVE – WEEKDAYS AT 7 A.M. ET ON PEACOCK

Mike Florio and co-host Chris Simms bring fans the latest NFL news and interviews with players and coaches every weekday morning with PFT Live streaming live on Peacock at 7 a.m. ET. Peter King also contributes regularly to PFT Live’s coverage throughout the season.

The two-hour PFT Live is known for delivering inside information and comprehensive analysis from an independent perspective. The show covers all the latest news around the league, breaks down reports and rumors and features interviews with players, coaches and executives.

PODCASTS

NBC Sports’ football podcasts provide extensive weekly offerings from NBC Sports’ most popular personalities and present special guests, exclusive interviews, and robust conversations across all of football on The Peter King Podcast, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry, Chris Simms Unbuttoned, PFT PM, and Rotoworld Football Show, along with college football on B1G Talk with Todd and Noah and Go B1G or Go Home. While The Peter King Podcast features intimate discussions with the NFL’s top players, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry is NBC Sports’ fantasy daily sports betting show, Chris Simms Unbuttoned and PFT PM dive into deep conversations around the sports’ hottest topics, and Rotoworld Football Show explores fantasy implications for fans. New episodes of NBC Sports podcasts are available for download each week on all major podcast platforms including: NBCSports.com/podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn and iHeart.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SOCIAL MEDIA

• • SNF ON INSTAGRAM: Through the unique filter of Instagram, fans will get an in-depth look at each week’s Sunday Night Football game with the most engaging photos and videos from across the NFL. SNF also utilizes Instagram Stories for up-to-the-minute coverage of the league.
  • SNF ON TWITTER: The very latest news, video, analysis from the Football Night in America crew and much more lives on @SNFonNBC, the real-time engine for NBC’s year-round NFL coverage.
  • SNF ON FACEBOOK: With more than 3.6 million followers, SNF’s Facebook page is the hub of football conversation. It’s the place to converse and engage with fellow fans on the latest news and action across the NFL.
  • NBC SPORTS ON TIKTOK: NBC Sports’ presence on TikTok puts the spotlight on the offbeat and exuberant side of the National Football League for a young, highly-engaged audience.

“SCARY GOOD SUNDAY NIGHT” PARTIES

NBC Sports this season launches a series of Sunday Night Football viewing parties across the country that will help fans ease the new-week nerves as they watch the NFL’s best in primetime each Sunday. At each event, attendees will have the chance to blitz their worries by taking down an NFL tackling dummy for a chance to win exclusive prizes that enhance their Sundays, including exclusive savings on TV-mounting and other home services courtesy of Taskrabbit, complimentary three-month memberships from meditation and mental wellness app, Breethe, and three-months of free Peacock Premium.

The Sunday Night Football viewing parties continue September 24 as the Las Vegas Raiders host the Pittsburgh Steelers on NBC and Peacock. Fans are invited to a Scary Good Sunday Night in the following cities:

• • Sept. 24 – Tom’s Watch Bar (Pittsburgh) and BrewDog (Las Vegas)
  • Oct. 1 – Chicken N Pickle (Kansas City) and Houston Hall (New York)
  • Oct. 8 – Backyard (Dallas) and Golden Gate Tap Room (San Francisco)
  • Oct. 15 – Buffalo

NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS

NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports Chicago, NBC Sports Philadelphia and NBC Sports Washington will again deliver extensive multiplatform coverage of the 2023 NFL season, led by comprehensive live gameday shows, in-depth news, analysis and commentary programming, and multimedia digital content covering the teams in their respective markets.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD

Eight-time Grammy Award-winner and multi-platinum recording artist Carrie Underwood stars in the show open for NBC’s Sunday Night Football. This year’s show open debuted Sunday night, Sept. 10, before kickoff of Cowboys-Giants on NBC.

The new show open – headlined by an updated rendition of “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” – features a concert performance interspersed with augmented reality highlights displayed across a halo scoreboard. Underwood performed the open from The Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas, home of her ongoing residency, REFLECTION.

NBC’S SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL IS PRIMETIME TELEVISION’S NO. 1 SHOW FOR RECORD 12 CONSECUTIVE YEARS: NBC’s Sunday Night Football finished the 2022-23 TV season as primetime’s #1 TV show in all key metrics for an unprecedented 12^th 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 13^th consecutive TV season.

2023 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sun. Sept. 24	Week 3	Pittsburgh Steelers at Las Vegas Raiders
Sun. Oct. 1	Week 4	Kansas City Chiefs at New York Jets
*Sun. Oct. 8	Week 5	Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers
*Sun. Oct. 15	Week 6	New York Giants at Buffalo Bills
*Sun. Oct. 22	Week 7	Miami Dolphins at Philadelphia Eagles
*Sun. Oct. 29	Week 8	Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Chargers
*Sun. Nov. 5	Week 9	Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals
*Sun. Nov. 12	Week 10	New York Jets at Las Vegas Raiders
*Sun. Nov. 19	Week 11	Minnesota Vikings at Denver Broncos
**Thurs. Nov. 23	Week 12	San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
*Sun. Nov. 26	Week 12	Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers
*Sun. Dec. 3	Week 13	Kansas City Chiefs at Green Bay Packers
*Sun. Dec. 10	Week 14	Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
*Sun. Dec. 17	Week 15	Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars
Sat. Dec. 23 (4:30 p.m. ET)	Week 16	Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
***Sat. Dec. 23 (8 p.m. ET)	Week 16	Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Chargers
*Sun. Dec. 31	Week 17	Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
*Sun. Jan. 8	Week 18	TBD

 

*Flex Week

** Thanksgiving Night Game

*** Exclusively on Peacock

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING:

Flexible scheduling will be used in Weeks 11-18. Additionally, in Weeks 5-10, flexible scheduling may be used in no more than two weeks. In Weeks 5-17, 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.

For Week 18, two Saturday games and the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to January 8. The schedule does not list Saturday games or a Sunday night game in Week 18, but games with playoff implications will be moved to those time slots.  Flexible scheduling ensures quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks and gives “surprise” teams a chance to play their way into primetime.

–SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL–

“Scary Good Sunday Night” Events — Beginning this Week in Boston and Miami — Offer Fans an Outlet To Cure The Sunday Scaries, With Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock

Stamford, Conn., September 13, 2023 – NBC Sports this week launches a series of Sunday Night Football viewing parties across the country that will help fans ease the new-week nerves as they watch the NFL’s The Sunday Scaries are described as feelings of anxiety that occur every Sunday before the start of a new work week. A recent survey conducted by LinkedIn revealed that 80 percent of professionals experience the Sunday Scaries with the peak between 8-9.

The can’t-miss viewing parties in major markets across the country will provide the exhilaration and comradery of SNF in addition to partnerships with Taskrabbit, and Breethe to help fans celebrate the end of the weekend in a one-of-a-kind environment.

At each event, attendees will have the chance to blitz their worries by taking down an NFL tackling dummy for a chance to win exclusive prizes that enhance their Sundays, including exclusive savings on TV-mounting and other home services courtesy of Taskrabbit, complimentary three-month memberships from meditation and mental wellness app, Breethe, and three-months of free Peacock Premium.

“We are excited to create an environment that not only enhances the communal Sunday Night Football experience but provides enthusiasm and self-care for fans as they start a new week,” said Lyndsay Signor, NBC Sports senior vice president of Consumer Engagement. “We know SNF can be a cure for the Sunday Scaries.”

Participants will be able to enjoy Scary Good Sunday Nights giveaways, photo ops, special guest appearances, a sweepstakes, self-care experiences from On Her Turf and great food at some of the best bars in the country. To learn more, go to NBCSports.com/ScaryGoodSNF.

The Sunday Night Football viewing parties kick off on September 17 as the New England Patriots host the Miami Dolphins on NBC and Peacock. Fans are invited to a Scary Good Sunday Night in the following cities:

• • Sept. 17 – Grails Miami (Miami) and Tavern in the Square Allston (Boston)
  • Sept. 24 – Tom’s Watch Bar (Pittsburgh) and BrewDog (Las Vegas)
  • Oct. 1 – Chicken N Pickle (Kansas City) and Houston Hall (New York)
  • Oct. 8 – Backyard (Dallas) and Golden Gate Tap Room (San Francisco)
  • Oct. 15 – Buffalo

 

NBC’S SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL IS PRIMETIME TELEVISION’S NO. 1 SHOW FOR RECORD 12 CONSECUTIVE YEARS: NBC’s Sunday Night Football finished the 2022-23 TV season as primetime’s #1 TV show in all key metrics for an unprecedented 12^th 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 13^th consecutive TV season.

About Taskrabbit: Taskrabbit is a digital platform that connects people seeking help with household tasks, such as furniture assembly, moving and home improvements, to skilled, reliable Taskers in their communities. Acquired by the Ingka Group (IKEA) in 2017, TaskRabbit operates in thousands of cities across eight countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States and is available in 200+ IKEA stores worldwide. To find out more, please visit www.taskrabbit.com, or join the conversation with @Taskrabbit on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube.

Taskrabbit PR – press@taskrabbit.com 

About Breethe: Breethe helps people find mental wellness through guided audio meditations, masterclasses and programs, hypnotherapy, music for every mood, informative talks, bedtime stories and a recently launched, groundbreaking AI Mental Wellness Coaching feature. Offering new content daily and with personalized recommendations on how to cope with real-life challenges, such as sleep difficulty, work stress and relationship issues, Breethe helps people overcome anxiety, insomnia and stress. Available in English (iOS and Android) and in Spanish (iOS). Users can subscribe via Apple iOS or Android apps, or by visiting breethe.com.

Follow along on Instagram at @BreetheApp

 

2023 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sun. Sept. 17	Week 2	Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
Sun. Sept. 24	Week 3	Pittsburgh Steelers at Las Vegas Raiders
Sun. Oct. 1	Week 4	Kansas City Chiefs at New York Jets
*Sun. Oct. 8	Week 5	Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers
*Sun. Oct. 15	Week 6	New York Giants at Buffalo Bills
*Sun. Oct. 22	Week 7	Miami Dolphins at Philadelphia Eagles
*Sun. Oct. 29	Week 8	Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Chargers
*Sun. Nov. 5	Week 9	Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals
*Sun. Nov. 12	Week 10	New York Jets at Las Vegas Raiders
*Sun. Nov. 19	Week 11	Minnesota Vikings at Denver Broncos
**Thurs. Nov. 23	Week 12	San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
*Sun. Nov. 26	Week 12	Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers
*Sun. Dec. 3	Week 13	Kansas City Chiefs at Green Bay Packers
*Sun. Dec. 10	Week 14	Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
*Sun. Dec. 17	Week 15	Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars
Sat. Dec. 23 (4:30 p.m. ET)	Week 16	Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
***Sat. Dec. 23 (8 p.m. ET)	Week 16	Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Chargers
*Sun. Dec. 31	Week 17	Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
*Sun. Jan. 8	Week 18	TBD

 

*Flex Week

** Thanksgiving Night Game

*** Exclusively on Peacock

Coverage Begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET; Followed by 8:20 p.m. ET Kickoff

NFL Sundays Begin and End on Peacock with Exclusive Coverage Featuring Fantasy Football Pregame with Matthew Berry at 11 a.m. ET and Peacock Sunday Night Football Final Immediately After Each SNF Game

NBC Sports Posts Largest Two-Game NFL Kickoff Weekend Audience Since 2015

STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 13, 2023 – Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins (1-0) host Mac Jones and the New England Patriots (0-1) in an AFC East divisional clash in the Week 2 edition of NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with Football Night in America, followed by kickoff at 8:20 p.m. ET from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on NBC, Peacock and Universo.

The Dolphins opened the season with a 36-34 victory over the Chargers on Sunday as Tagovailoa passed for 466 yards and three touchdowns and wide receiver Tyreek Hill had 11 receptions for 215 yards and two touchdowns. Tagovailoa’s 466 passing yards are the third-most in a Week 1 game in the Super Bowl era, and Hill’s 215 receiving yards are the third-most in a season-opening game in NFL history. It was also Hill’s 10^th career game with at least 10 receptions and 150 receiving yards, tied for the most such games all-time.

The Patriots lost to the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, 25-20. After coming back from an early 16-0 deficit to make it a one-score game, New England’s last-minute drive fell short at Philadelphia’s 20-yard line. Jones passed for 316 yards and three touchdowns and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne had 64 receiving yards and two touchdown catches.

Miami and New England meet for the 116^th time (including the postseason) this weekend, with the Dolphins holding a 60-55 advantage. Last season, the clubs split the series, 1-1, with both teams winning at home.

Calling Patriots-Dolphins is Mike Tirico (play-by-play); 17-time Emmy Award winner Cris Collinsworth (analyst); and Melissa Stark (sideline reporter). Three-time Super Bowl referee Terry McAulay is the Sunday Night Football rules analyst.

NBC’s coverage of Sunday Night Football is led by executive producer Rob Hyland and director Drew Esocoff. SNF has won a record 11 Sports Emmys for Outstanding Live Sports Series.

Football Night in America is hosted by Maria Taylor and features former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, three-time Super Bowl champion Devin McCourty, and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, as well as Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison, NFL insider Mike Florio, fantasy sports industry pioneer Matthew Berry, and co-host Jac Collinsworth.

Football Night, the most-watched studio show in sports since its debut in 2006, begins every Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. The coordinating producer of FNIA is Matt Casey. FNIA is directed by Kaare Numme.

Peacock exclusively bookends NFL coverage every Sunday with Fantasy Football Pregame with Matthew Berry at 11 a.m. ET and its exclusive postgame show, Peacock Sunday Night Football Final following each Sunday Night Football game.

NBC SPORTS POSTS LARGEST TWO-GAME NFL KICKOFF WEEKEND AUDIENCE SINCE 2015

With the return of NBC’s Sunday Night Football – primetime’s #1 show for an unprecedented 12 consecutive years – and last Thursday’s NFL Kickoff Game, NBC Sports delivered its largest two-game NFL Kickoff Weekend audience since 2015, averaging 24.9 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital platforms.

Click here for more.

PEACOCK TO STREAM EXCLUSIVE REGULAR-SEASON AND WILD CARD GAME; WILL LIVE STREAM ALL NBC NFL GAMES THIS SEASON

Peacock is set to make history twice this season, with the first time being in Week 16 with the first-ever Peacock-exclusive regular season NFL game featuring Josh Allen and the Bills visiting Justin Herbert and the Chargers on Saturday, Dec. 23. Peacock will also be home to the first-ever exclusive live streamed NFL Playoff game during Wild Card Weekend on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. All of NBC Sports’ NFL regular -season games, playoff games, and Football Night in America will also stream live on Peacock this season.

Peacock features a slate of sports talk content NFL fans can enjoy on the NBC Sports channel, which is free to stream. Shows include Brother from Another, as well as The Dan Patrick Show, PFT Live, PFT PM, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry, The Peter King Podcast, and Chris Simms Unbuttoned.

To learn more about the NFL on Peacock, including how to watch and sign up, click here.

NBCSPORTS.COM & NBC SPORTS APP TO LIVE STREAM ALL NBC NFL GAMES

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream live coverage to desktops, mobile, tablets, and connected TVs via authentication, 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 available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, and Chromecast.

TELEMUNDO DEPORTES TO PRESENT ENTIRE NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE, INCLUDING PLAYOFFS

Telemundo Deportes will again provide exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the entire NBC Sunday Night Football package with 20 regular season games, including this Thursday’s NFL Kickoff Game, 18 regular-season Sunday Night Football games, and the annual Thanksgiving night game, which will air on Telemundo. Telemundo Deportes will present four playoff matchups, including a Divisional Playoff game and three Wild Card Playoff games. NBC Sports’ NFL games this season will also be available on live stream via TelemundoDeportes.com and the Telemundo Deportes app.

Telemundo Deportes’s SNF announce team consists of Emmy-award winning sports journalist and play-by-play announcer Miguel Gurwitz and former Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Rolando Cantu this season with Ariana Figuera serving as analyst and supporting pre- and post-game studio coverage. Emmy-nominated Ana Jurka joins the team as host.

PETER KING’S NFL COLUMN “FOOTBALL MORNING IN AMERICA” DEBUTS EVERY MONDAY EXCLUSIVELY ON NBCSPORTS.COM

A new “Football Morning in America” will post every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com. It was announced in May 2019 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 PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports. The Peter King Podcast streams weekly on Peacock on Thursdays at 6 p.m. ET.

CHRIS SIMMS UNBUTTONED

NBC Sports’ Chris Simms examines everything happening in the NFL and around the sports world. Along with a rotation of NBC Sports hosts including Ahmed Fareed and Paul Burmeister, Chris Simms Unbuttoned analyses the NFL with in-depth Xs and Os breakdowns; one-on-one interviews with players, coaches and executives; and game recaps and preview. The show is available to stream on Peacock on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and is also available in podcast form here.

FANTASY FOOTBALL HAPPY HOUR WITH MATTHEW BERRY

Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry, NBC Sports’ daily fantasy football and sports betting show, streams every weekday every weekday at Noon ET on Peacock. “Fantasy Football Happy Hour” discusses the most newsworthy fantasy football and sports betting topics and is co-hosted by Jay Croucher and features analysis and advice from regular guests including NBC Sports’ Chris Simms, Mike Florio and Peter King, NBC Sports EDGE’s Denny Carter, Pat Daugherty, Vaughn Dalzell, Lawrence Jackson, and more.  The show, which is available on all major podcast platforms and via NBC Sports Audio on SiriusXM Radio, features fantasy football rankings, start/sit suggestions, waiver wire advice, betting futures, player props, and more.

PEACOCK SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL FINAL

Peacock Sunday Night Football Final, an NFL post-game show produced by NBC Sports, streams exclusively on Peacock following every Sunday Night Football game during the 2023 season. The show is hosted from the game site by Jac Collinsworth, Harrison, and Dungy, who will provide instant reactions to each Sunday game along with highlights and interviews, while Berry will host a weekly segment called “DraftKings Crowning Moments,” where the fantasy sports analyst will discuss his successful bets from that day; he will also provide fantasy advice and an early look at the waiver wire. Football Night in America’s studio team will also provide recaps and insights into the day’s biggest moments, while Florio will provide injury and news updates.

ROTOWORLD

Rotoworld, the industry-leading source for fantasy football news and information, , offers comprehensive fantasy football and betting coverage throughout the 2023 NFL season across NBC Sports’ platforms. The 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Guide, featuring the most comprehensive player profiles, ranking and projections in the industry plus Matthew Berry’s annual “100 Facts” article and additional exclusive content from Rotoworld’s team of expert analysts, is available now. Click here for more information.

PFT LIVE – WEEKDAYS AT 7 A.M. ET ON PEACOCK

Mike Florio and co-host Chris Simms bring fans the latest NFL news and interviews with players and coaches every weekday morning with PFT Live streaming live on Peacock at 7 a.m. ET. Peter King also contributes regularly to PFT Live’s coverage throughout the season.

The two-hour PFT Live is known for delivering inside information and comprehensive analysis from an independent perspective. The show covers all the latest news around the league, breaks down reports and rumors and features interviews with players, coaches and executives.

PODCASTS

NBC Sports’ football podcasts provide extensive weekly offerings from NBC Sports’ most popular personalities and present special guests, exclusive interviews, and robust conversations across all of football on The Peter King Podcast, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry, Chris Simms Unbuttoned, PFT PM, and Rotoworld Football Show, along with college football on B1G Talk with Todd and Noah and Go B1G or Go Home. While The Peter King Podcast features intimate discussions with the NFL’s top players, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry is NBC Sports’ fantasy daily sports betting show, Chris Simms Unbuttoned and PFT PM dive into deep conversations around the sports’ hottest topics, and Rotoworld Football Show explores fantasy implications for fans. New episodes of NBC Sports podcasts are available for download each week on all major podcast platforms including: NBCSports.com/podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn and iHeart.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SOCIAL MEDIA

• • SNF ON INSTAGRAM: Through the unique filter of Instagram, fans will get an in-depth look at each week’s Sunday Night Football game with the most engaging photos and videos from across the NFL. SNF also utilizes Instagram Stories for up-to-the-minute coverage of the league.
  • SNF ON TWITTER: The very latest news, video, analysis from the Football Night in America crew and much more lives on @SNFonNBC, the real-time engine for NBC’s year-round NFL coverage.
  • SNF ON FACEBOOK: With more than 3.6 million followers, SNF’s Facebook page is the hub of football conversation. It’s the place to converse and engage with fellow fans on the latest news and action across the NFL.
  • NBC SPORTS ON TIKTOK: NBC Sports’ presence on TikTok puts the spotlight on the offbeat and exuberant side of the National Football League for a young, highly-engaged audience.

 

NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS

NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports Chicago, NBC Sports Philadelphia and NBC Sports Washington will again deliver extensive multiplatform coverage of the 2023 NFL season, led by comprehensive live gameday shows, in-depth news, analysis and commentary programming, and multimedia digital content covering the teams in their respective markets.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD

Seven-time Grammy Award-winner and multi-platinum recording artist Carrie Underwood stars in the show open for NBC’s Sunday Night Football. This year’s show open debuts this Sunday night, Sept. 10, before kickoff of Cowboys-Giants on NBC.

The new show open – headlined by an updated rendition of “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” – features a concert performance interspersed with augmented reality highlights displayed across a halo scoreboard. Underwood performed the open from The Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas, home of her ongoing residency, REFLECTION.

NBC’S SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL IS PRIMETIME TELEVISION’S NO. 1 SHOW FOR RECORD 12 CONSECUTIVE YEARS: NBC’s Sunday Night Football finished the 2022-23 TV season as primetime’s #1 TV show in all key metrics for an unprecedented 12^th 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 13^th consecutive TV season.

2023 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sun. Sept. 17	Week 2	Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
Sun. Sept. 24	Week 3	Pittsburgh Steelers at Las Vegas Raiders
Sun. Oct. 1	Week 4	Kansas City Chiefs at New York Jets
*Sun. Oct. 8	Week 5	Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers
*Sun. Oct. 15	Week 6	New York Giants at Buffalo Bills
*Sun. Oct. 22	Week 7	Miami Dolphins at Philadelphia Eagles
*Sun. Oct. 29	Week 8	Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Chargers
*Sun. Nov. 5	Week 9	Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals
*Sun. Nov. 12	Week 10	New York Jets at Las Vegas Raiders
*Sun. Nov. 19	Week 11	Minnesota Vikings at Denver Broncos
**Thurs. Nov. 23	Week 12	San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
*Sun. Nov. 26	Week 12	Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers
*Sun. Dec. 3	Week 13	Kansas City Chiefs at Green Bay Packers
*Sun. Dec. 10	Week 14	Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
*Sun. Dec. 17	Week 15	Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars
Sat. Dec. 23 (4:30 p.m. ET)	Week 16	Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
***Sat. Dec. 23 (8 p.m. ET)	Week 16	Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Chargers
*Sun. Dec. 31	Week 17	Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
*Sun. Jan. 8	Week 18	TBD

 

*Flex Week

** Thanksgiving Night Game

*** Exclusively on Peacock

 

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING:

Flexible scheduling will be used in Weeks 11-18. Additionally, in Weeks 5-10, flexible scheduling may be used in no more than two weeks. In Weeks 5-17, 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.

For Week 18, two Saturday games and the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to January 8. The schedule does not list Saturday games or a Sunday night game in Week 18, but games with playoff implications will be moved to those time slots.  Flexible scheduling ensures quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks and gives “surprise” teams a chance to play their way into primetime.

–SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL–

Audience Peaked at More than 29 Million Viewers in Second Quarter

Led By Peacock, Lions-Chiefs is 2^nd Most-Streamed NBC NFL Game Ever – Topping Three Prior Super Bowls (and Trailing Only Super Bowl LVI)

Dak Prescott and Dallas Cowboys visit Daniel Jones & New York Giants This Sunday on NBC, Peacock, Telemundo and Universo; Coverage Begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET, Followed by SNF at 8:20 p.m. ET

STAMFORD, Conn. – September 8, 2023 – The Detroit Lions’ thrilling 21-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the opening game of the NFL season last night on NBC and Peacock averaged nearly 27 million viewers – ranking as media’s most-watched show since Super Bowl LVII on FOX in February.

Lions-Chiefs registered a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) average of 26.8 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital, and NFL Digital platforms – up 24% from last year’s opener (21.7 million for Bills-Rams) and ranking as the second-largest NFL Kickoff Game audience since Steelers-Patriots in 2015 (just behind the 26.9 million who watched Tom Brady and the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the Dallas Cowboys on a last-second field goal in 2021).

NBC Sports’ coverage peaked at 29.1 million viewers between 9:15-9:30 p.m. ET in the second quarter, while 27.1 million were watching from 10:45-11:00 p.m. ET as Jared Goff (3 of 3 passing for 40 yards) and David Montgomery (five carries for 23 yards and touchdown) led the Lions’ game-winning scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter.

The Average Minute Audience (AMA) for last night’s live stream via Peacock, NBC Sports Digital platforms, and NFL Digital platforms, was 2.8 million viewers – the second-highest ever for an NBC NFL game, topping three Super Bowls (trailing only Super Bowl LVI in 2022) – and up 60% from last year’s NFL Kickoff Game (1.7 million).

Last night’s game (8:23 p.m.-11:24 p.m. ET) registered a national TV household rating of 12.8/35 – up 19% from last year (10.8/28). The 35 share is NBC’s largest for any regular-season game since debuting the SNF package in 2006.

Viewership figures are based upon live plus same day data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.

TOP METERED MARKETS FOR LIONS-CHIEFS (based on 44 markets available):

1.	Kansas City	45.5/81
2.	Detroit	30.0/62
3.	Cincinnati	18.9/44
T4.	Minneapolis	16.6/43
T4.	Pittsburgh	16.6/40
6.	Sacramento	16.3/47
7.	Baltimore	16.2/42
8.	Denver	16.0/47
9.	Cleveland	15.8/39
10.	Nashville	15.7/40

 

NBC Sports’ NFL Kickoff Weekend coverage continues this Sunday, Sept. 10 with the season opener of Sunday Night Football as Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys visit Daniel Jones and the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. This matchup marks the series-high fifth time that the Cowboys and Giants have met in the opening NBC Sunday Night Football game.

Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with Football Night in America, with SNF kickoff at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock, Telemundo and Universo. Peacock Sunday Night Football Final follows all SNF games, providing analysis of each Sunday game along with highlights and interviews.

–SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL–

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

 THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to today’s call. One week from tomorrow on Thursday night, September 7, on NBC, Peacock and Universo, we will kick off the 2023 NFL season with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Detroit Lions.

Then three nights later, on the season debut of Sunday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys visit the New York Giants. It’s the series-high fifth time these teams have played on the opening NBC Sunday night game.

Joining us on today’s call are our coordinating producer Rob Hyland, who starts his 15th season leading an NBC Sports football production, the first 13 years on Notre Dame and now his second season with SNF.

Play-by-play voice Mike Tirico next week begins his 18th consecutive season calling NFL primetime games. He’s joined by game analyst Cris Collinsworth, who enters his 15th season in the Sunday Night Football booth, and our sideline reporter, Melissa Stark, who kicks off her fifth full season as an NFL sideline reporter and second with Sunday Night Football.

For those of you who like stats, in seven career Week 1 games, Cris Collinsworth for the Cincinnati Bengals had 36 catches for 557 yards and two touchdowns, both of which were scored at Arrowhead Stadium exactly 37 years to the day before this year’s kickoff game, so that’s September 7, 1986.

We’ll begin with some opening comments and then we’ll take your questions. Here’s our coordinating producer Rob Hyland.

ROB HYLAND: I was starting sixth grade that year, Cris.

Really excited to be a part of this group again.

Around this time last year, Mike, Melissa and I were the newbies to this storied franchise. Cris and our director, Drew Esocoff, were the only veterans, and now we all know what we’re in for between next Thursday and mid-January, and I cannot wait for this to start.

It is truly a pleasure and a privilege to be part of this football family with such a great production and engineering team.

We had the chance to televise the final regular season game of the 2022 season, which featured the Lions defeating Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. The Lions are a really fun team to cover, so it’s great to pick up right where we left off with them, and what better place to start the season than in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

MIKE TIRICO: I guess it’s a good sign that I was going to start the same place our producer started.

The coolest part of last year was, for Rob and Melissa and me, how awesome Drew Esocoff and Cris were in not just making any transition as smooth as possible but also willing to do new things and fun things. It was a great season.

As Rob said, we ended the season with the Lions’ win at Lambeau. We ended our postseason with the Chiefs playing Jacksonville at Arrowhead. It just feels like a nice continuation of all of that.

Needless to say, there’s nothing like Sunday nights, from Carrie Underwood’s start to the players introducing themselves and the lineups. There’s a juice and an energy to it that is unmistakable, and it’s a privilege to be a part of this package, and I look forward to being next to Cris, and Cris, by the way, September 7, 1986, I was starting my junior year at Syracuse and had just called the Mississippi State football game. I’m sure that next day I watched you with your two touchdowns at Arrowhead, so congratulations on that anniversary you get to celebrate next week.

MELISSA STARK: Love this group. Everyone is so supportive and smart, engaged, fun-loving. They’re like family truly.

We’re going to be going back and forth across the country a bit again this year when you look at our schedule. I’d say as a Jersey girl, not native Jersey girl but living here now, I’m happy to have a few games at Met Life. We haven’t been there in a while. Big storylines there, of course, with the Jets and Aaron Rodgers.

We couldn’t be more excited to be together again this year. We’ve just got to make sure everybody is on time, and it’ll all be good..

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: I also would like to declare that I have absolutely no recollection of 1986 football, that game, those two touchdowns or really anything related to 1986.

But looking forward to this coming week. It’s amazing after all the years that we’ve been doing this, you still feel that buzz at the start of football season.

Maybe it’s just me — but I don’t think so. I think that all around the country, with fantasy drafts and now you’ve got the gaming companies involved, there’s just an excitement in America when football season kicks back in again.

We’re honored that we get to kick it off. Looking forward to it.

Q. I know the Broncos won’t be on your Sunday night slate for a little while into the season, but I was wondering if, Mike and Cris and Melissa, if you could just speak briefly to what do you think about the prospect of Sean Payton, quote-unquote, fixing Russell Wilson after he had that bad season last year, and secondly, what did you make of Sean’s comments about Nathaniel Hackett’s performance last season?

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: Sean Payton is one of the great coaches of all time. Of all time. Do I think he’s going to fix Russell Wilson? I don’t think you fix Russell Wilson. I think you find Russell Wilson. You figure out what he wants to do and what he does best, and you make it work.

Sean has been able to cobble together offenses with a variety of quarterbacks and players, but there’s something about Sean Payton. He’s a commanding presence in the room. I think that Russell was coming in a season ago and had a certain way of doing things, and he sort of did them that way, and now I think he’ll do things the Sean Payton way.

I’m kind of anxious to see what that might mean. This is a team that we’re used to being really good. They have a fan base that’s used to seeing them be really good.

But I do not believe that Russell Wilson is finished. I think that we’ll see a little bit more of what we’ve seen in the past, with what seems to be working in this league right now — of course we’re all trying to copy Patrick Mahomes and what he does, but the ability to take deep drops, to move around, to buy time through your receivers to get open, which is exactly what Russell Wilson does, is still very much in vogue, and I think we’ll probably see a little bit more of that along with maybe a little bit of Drew Brees’ quick release game.

MIKE TIRICO: I will hop in and just simply tag on to that. Sometimes in business, society, whatever, you get a fit, and sometimes things don’t fit, and for whatever reason, Nathaniel Hackett and Russell Wilson and the whole Denver situation didn’t fit.

I’m going to bet on Sean Payton figuring out a way to make this fit, given his history with quarterbacks who aren’t the tallest, quarterbacks who have some mobility and veteran quarterbacks, so I think that will work. I also think Nathaniel Hackett is going to be a fit back with Aaron Rodgers with the Jets.

I think both of those guys just didn’t connect and will connect in my opinion going forward. I know we get out to Denver on our schedule once. It’ll be great to see.

I think the new owners in Denver have shown supreme commitment to getting the Broncos back to where we’ve known them for many years, and my guess is we’re going to see that going forward.

Q. Cris, you were here in Kansas City in 2020. It was a COVID year, and I was wondering how Arrowhead seemed different that year than in years past for the kickoff game. Just for Mike and Melissa, what’s it like to be at a game for the kickoff of the season as opposed to Sunday Night Football?

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: Kansas City is one of the great stadiums to come in to do a game anywhere. Everybody always talks about you smell the barbecue and you see the people. But there’s just such a passion for what’s happening with the Kansas City Chiefs, and of course it all dates back to my buddy Len Dawson and what he was able to do in that city, as well.

It’s different. It’s not Green Bay or it’s not one of those kind of cities where you just can feel it, Buffalo. It’s not exactly that. But it’s a fan base that has really seen the absolute best of football at the highest level. Their level of knowledge in discussions, at the hotel or driving around town and meeting people, is incredibly high.

COVID and wearing a mask did nothing to that. It just didn’t.

As I talked about in the opening a little bit, it’s just football season, and in some places it’s more football season than it is anywhere else. There are some places that we go to that football means more than it does in other cities, and Kansas City would be pretty far on the high end where it’s really, really important.

MELISSA STARK: I was recently there for the NFL Draft, which was just awesome. It was so great to be there.

Love going to Kansas City. I think the adrenaline rush, Cris talked about the adrenaline. There’s nothing like being there live at the games. We’re so fortunate to have that be part of our jobs. You can double that for me by being on the sidelines. You’re right there in the center of the action.

But then last year was the first — I used to do Monday Night Football in early 2000s, so the kickoff situation didn’t exist, so last year was my first official kickoff game.

There’s nothing like it. It’s the beginning. Everyone has been waiting for however many days. The countdown is on, and you’re there. It’s an absolute privilege to be able to be there and cover that game.

MIKE TIRICO: This is year eight for me, football season No. 8 for me at NBC, which is hard to believe. I’ve been to the kickoff game most years that I’ve been there except for that COVID year.

I think what this has built up over the last couple of decades is league-wide and nationwide anticipation. If you think about it, you can’t wait for preseason football to start, until preseason football starts, and then you’re like, come on, let’s get to the regular season.

Well, this is it, so when it’s on the tee at 7:15 central time on September 7th, every team in the league and every fan base has some hope, our rookie quarterback is going to be better than he was in the preseason, or we’re going to surprise people, or our team can get to the Super Bowl.

You think of the two teams there, Chiefs fans, we can go back-to-back and be the first team since the Pats to do that. And for the Lions’ fans all the whole buildup of this whole summer, let’s see if it’s for real.

There’s a great energy to that opening game, and I think that’s really what’s built up.

When you have Arrowhead and the Chiefs’ fans and the banner and all that stuff on top of it, it is really one of the fun moments of the year. You’re asked what it compares to in terms of Sunday night, you’ve got a great buildup every Sunday night, but I just feel everyone’s energy from around the country of the start of the season for this kickoff game. I’d say that’s where it differentiates from what we get to do every Sunday night.

Q. Mike and Cris, just in both of your times covering the National Football League, has there ever been a more anticipated Detroit Lions game that you’ve ever seen?

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: I’ll let Mr. Michigan go first on that one.

MIKE TIRICO: Yeah, I’ve lived in metro Detroit for the last quarter century or thereabouts. My wife is from there, so that’s been our home for a while.

They’ve played in playoff games. People forget sometimes they’ve played in playoff games, so the games to get to those games were highly anticipated.

But I think early in the season, there’s no doubt this is as big a buildup to a Lions’ game as we’ve seen in a long time.

I’ll share this anecdote. We have the Paris Olympics coming up in July of ’24, and a month or so ago it was one year out, so I was in Paris doing some stuff for the Today Show and was on a walk and was walking from the Eiffel Tower across one of the many bridges in Paris and I was wearing a Detroit Tigers hat. I don’t cover baseball so I can root for a team. They’re my hometown team.

A guy stopped me and he said, hey, that Lions game in Green Bay was something; I can’t wait for the opener. Some guy stopped me in Paris to talk about the Lions. It just gives you a little inkling into the anticipation.

But as I’ve warned anybody who I’ve come across this summer, because you end one year on a high, you don’t pick up on the next chapter of that book. It starts all over again. They’re going to have a little pressure to prove all this buildup is for real.

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: Come on, man. I thought you were going to predict they’re going to knock off the Chiefs in Kansas City. You’re not really that Michigan guy. Come on.

MIKE TIRICO: Thanks. Nothing like getting me in trouble with the hometown folks. Thank you.

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: You know, I’m going to just go ahead and be really honest with you. So we saw Detroit the last game of the year knocking off Green Bay to kind of end Green Bay’s hopes for the playoffs, and I think we were really impressed with that team. They really didn’t have anything to play for. Green Bay had everything to play for.

They came out and they just were so tough. My recollections of the Detroit Lions go back a couple of years, and I can see the progression.

When I saw Dan Campbell come in there and just the toughness that began to emanate through that team, and they were losing games, but it just so happened there was about a two- or three-week stretch where everybody that the Lions had played were the next ones on Sunday night. So I was really studying the other team.

But what stuck out to me is that they were losing on the scoreboard but physically whipping the teams that they were playing.

I don’t know everything about football, but typically that doesn’t happen over a sustained period of time.

Then they came out last year, and they started slowly — and I was like, well, maybe this just is not going to happen. Then it happened. Then they won eight out of their last 10 games. Then their offense really started to take off, and we started going, hey, who is this Ben Johnson, this offensive coordinator; could Jared Goff really be the answer in Detroit; could this guy that was sort of a throw-in on this whole Matthew Stafford deal be a difference maker for Detroit. He kind of fits that underdog mold, right, that they seem to be able to deliver.

But great teams are typically built around their offensive and defensive lines, and Detroit is following that pattern. They really are. You look across their offensive line, and they are really good. Penei Sewell is as good as any tackle playing; Aidan Hutchinson is really coming out and making a name for himself; a guy like Alim McNeill on the defensive line, really a top-end player. So there are some exciting players.

But I will admit that when the schedule came out — so we’re anticipating, yeah, what’s our opening night game, too, and it was Kansas City and Detroit, I was like, really? Really? Detroit, all right.

But they’ve won eight out of 10, they were the hot team, they’re kind of a very interesting team with a lot of interesting personalities, and in many ways I think it was the perfect game to match up against Kansas City in that opener.

Q. My question is about a team you’re going to see in week 2, the New England Patriots. Seems like their big move this off-season was a coach, getting offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. Cris, what do you expect out of Bill O’Brien as the offensive coordinator, what can he do for the Patriots and what can he do for Mac Jones do you think?

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: Yeah, it’s interesting you said Mac Jones and not the quarterback position, right? I guess he sort of is the quarterback position now.

I’m intrigued. I’ve never seen sort of an experiment at the offensive coordinator position like we saw last year. It sort of, I think, bought Mac Jones a year of kind of growth.

Now we go back to an unquestioned successful offensive coordinator in Bill O’Brien. He’s been there, he’s done that. He’s a very talented guy.

But the Patriots for me are always a little bit of a mysterious team, and we’re so used to them never being out of a game offensively. I don’t think you’re ever going to question Bill Belichick, Jerod Mayo, Steve Belichick — you’re not going to question what they do on the defensive side. They may get beat, they may give up plays, whatever, on occasion, but you know they’re going to be in the football game defensively.

But offensively they have to re-prove it. They have to re-prove that it wasn’t just Tom Brady and that offensively they can put 30 points on the board.

That’s always sort of my standard line is that at some point you’re going to have to put up 30 to beat the top teams in the league. Even when you’re playing Philadelphia in the Super Bowl, who would have ever figured that their backup quarterback is going to come in and put up that point total against your defense.

At some point, you’ve got to be able to put up 30+ points, and the question is can the combination of Bill O’Brien and Mac Jones get that done.

MIKE TIRICO: I’ll just tack on one thing on Bill O’Brien. I’ve known Bill since the late ’90s when he was an offensive coach for George O’Leary at Georgia Tech. Here are names I thought I’d never throw out on this call. He went from Joe Hamilton, mostly a running quarterback, to George Godsey at quarterback, and Bill O’Brien’s teams on offense always found a way to be productive, found different ways to be productive, and always played with a toughness, too.

So while we are in full flash-and-dash mode in the AFC East with Tua and Tyreek in Miami and Aaron Rodgers at the Jets and Josh Allen and Stephon Diggs in Buffalo, the Patriots may play a little bit of a physical kind of strong offensive game that might be a half step different than everybody else, and I’d be willing to wager that Bill O’Brien is going to get the most out of that talent.

Is it enough to be better than those other three teams? I don’t know. But Bill O’Brien is a professional offensive coach proven at many places and at many different levels, and I think the Patriots are going to make big steps on that side of the ball this year.

Q. I’m wondering if anyone can give perspective on what it means to be now not the only property with flex scheduling and what you’re going to contend with that, with ESPN getting in and Amazon getting in on an experimental basis.

ROB HYLAND: I think that’s more for the business side. We’re tasked with putting on the best product every Sunday night, and we hope we are giving the viewer the best game every Sunday night that we can.

I think the landscape has gotten obviously more competitive, as you note, but we will do the absolute same job with any game on our schedule. If you look at our schedule today, on August 30, it looks pretty darn good. I think that’s pretty much all I can say about that.

I hope the NFL works with us if one of our games doesn’t pan out the way it looks today on August 30 when we get there.

But again, we expect and are hopeful that our schedule will hold up and that we don’t need to flex. But we understand the landscape is now different.

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: I’ll just add on, I’m glad. I mean, the majority of the football that I get to watch is in primetime, whether it’s on Thursday or Monday. Those are the games that I get to sit down and relax and enjoy watching football. I don’t want a bad game in primetime.

At least if you’re watching at 1:00 or 4:00 you can always flip around and find a different game if the one you’re watching is not very good, but if they put a bad game in primetime, you feel a little cheated. There’s only one game on, there’s nowhere to go.

Yes, I work in the NFL, but first and foremost I’m a fan. I like watching the games, and I want to see the best games.

Q. Cris, you’re getting into the sports broadcasting Hall of Fame this year. What does that mean for you after a long career in this industry?

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: It means apparently, it’s been a long career in this industry. I’m honored. I don’t want to not say that I’m honored. I certainly am.

But I’m not much of a look-back kind of a guy. I never have been. I’m intrigued by tomorrow much more than yesterday, and I’m honored, blessed. My wife is putting together our whole family, and they’re flying in to New York whether they want to or not for that night.

But yeah, it makes you think backwards a little bit and how lucky I’ve been to work with some of the unbelievable people, whether it be at NBC or FOX or HBO or Showtime or NFL Network.

You appreciate how lucky you are. You appreciate going to work every day. I even appreciate going down in the basement on Tuesdays now, knowing I’ve got a 12-hour day in front of me with film.

You know it doesn’t last forever, and I think that’s probably what it’s made me do more than anything else is stop and think, boy, you’d better enjoy every one of these that you get to do because it doesn’t go on and on and on, and I’m lucky I get to do it.

MIKE TIRICO: Hey, I’m going to cut the line here for a second and just brag on Cris.

I mean, 17 Emmys? That shouldn’t be like, oh, by the way. If you think about how great, and I mean great, that overused word is used appropriately here, Cris has been in the studio and in the booth doing games, it’s hard to imagine anyone in the history of the business who’s been that great in both seats.

I knew that for years watching, and I knew that for years working at NBC and getting to do a few games. But week in, week out, day in, day out, last year, what an appreciation for — no T is left uncrossed. Every morsel is researched. Cris is desperate about making sure that we are right as a team and does all the hard work when nobody is looking.

My respect for Cris was at the top of the roof and grew even more, if possible, by sitting next to him. It’s an honor to sit next to somebody who defines what a Hall of Famer in broadcasting truly is.

Q. I have two quick questions. One, you guys will be coming to Philly in week 7 for an interesting game between the Dolphins and the Eagles, interesting match-up. I was wondering if you have any thoughts about that. I also want to get your thoughts on Merrill Reese. He’s entering his 46th year calling the Eagles now for radio. I didn’t know if you guys knew him, had any interactions with him or had any thoughts on his broadcasting?

MIKE TIRICO: I’ll take the Merrill one and let Cris add on and do the same. Merrill is one of those guys who you walk through the Philadelphia press box, you can’t wait to see him. Getting to know Merrill over the years, traveling the NFL, my friendship with Ron Jaworski, one of my partners for many years, and being around Philly, and you walk in the booth and you go see Mike Quick and Merrill and you know you’re going to get a great story about the Eagles. You know you’re going to get some great perspectives.

But also watching the NFL Films replays or listening to SiriusXM NFL Radio and hearing some of the highlights, Merrill just sounds like the Eagles. His voice and his calls are so associated with one of those franchises that always makes headlines, and he has written the greatest captions for Eagles’ highlights over the years, right there in front of his eyes.

Those are the people who are the special ones to us as broadcasters in the NFL and I know to the fans of Philadelphia.

He’s one of those gold standard guys who every time you’re in Philly you want to make sure you get at least a few minutes to visit with Merrill and just share some good stories and good time. One of the best.

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: Yeah, I’m going to agree. Merrill always takes time to come say hello. He just does.

But there’s something so unique about his voice. There’s a level of excitement in his voice when he said hi, how are you. I don’t know if it’s the pitch. I don’t know what exactly it is. But you kind of get a little bit more jacked up for football when you talk to him.

I can remember calling their Super Bowl win, and I was really anxious after the game, I knew what we had done, but I was kind of anxious to hear what Merrill had done with that whole end of game and Hail Mary and the whole thing on top of it, and I found myself happy for him.

We get to know the broadcasters around football, and just thrilled that he had the career he’s had, and he finally got to put a ring on his finger, too, which is great.

As far as the Eagles, I think that in many ways they’re the team to beat this year because I think there are teams that are the equal of the Eagles if you take the NFL as a whole, but the NFC I don’t believe is quite as strong team to team as what the AFC is this year. I think that’s a pretty standard belief.

The Eagles seem to keep getting better. They seem to keep adding players that are going to help them in some way.

But I love the way that they’ve put together this football team. Howie Roseman does it exactly how I would do it, which is be the biggest, baddest team on the offensive and defensive lines and then fill in around it. Find you a quarterback that finally puts you over the top, and they certainly have done that in one of the most incredible stories that I think I’ve ever been a part of.

To see what Jalen has done to improve over the last couple years, probably one play away from being the Super Bowl MVP a season ago, and just how calm and cool he was in that game was really pretty amazing to think about when you go all the way back to his Alabama days and being benched in the championship game.

Just his mental toughness. I mean, when you talk to the guy, it makes you want to go to the weight room and start lifting weights. He’s just one of those intense characters that you can see how he can drag any team for a 1st down on 4th and 1, and why they went to the double-cheek push, because who would you rather have the ball in their hands than Jalen Hurts because you know that 600-pound squat guy is going to pick up that first down, especially if he gets a little push, as well.

Yeah, it’s a fun team to watch, and I’m really anxious — I can’t believe they got Jalen Carter. I just can’t believe they got that. I thought he was the best player in the draft. More power to them.

Q. My question is for Melissa. You brought up earlier your excitement for the Jets game and the first time you have them. I’m curious, what are your thoughts on interviewing Aaron Rodgers on the sideline? Obviously he’s a guy who there’s been a lot of discussion about how he relates to the media. How do you see it?

MELISSA STARK: Well, we sort of see a different side of Aaron Rodgers because our production meetings, and the guys can speak to this, but Aaron Rodgers comes across one way, I think, in the media. He certainly thinks his own way. He is very unique. He uses unique, very smart words. He’s introspective.

When we are in these production meetings with him, he does all of that, but he really wants to hang around and talk. It was interesting because he was part of our production meeting for Hall of Fame game earlier this season, and the Jets wrapped him up, and he was just content to sit there and chat, I’m sure because of Cris and Mike, and spend time just talking about the game.

He’s really sort of in a reflective, I believe — you see how he is right now in New York, he’s in a reflective stage of his career where he’s a coach out there and he’s mentoring all the young kids and he’s the elder statesman out there.

I think he’s relishing in that and enjoying that, and the guys had a really nice interview with him during the Hall of Fame Game. He had the headset on, and he was just — he’s very engaging. He’s very smart and clever.

He’s really fun to interview, I think.

So I’m excited about it. I think the guys would say the same thing, especially after their interview with him during the Hall of Fame Game earlier this year.

He’s brought a ton of energy and excitement to New York. I mentioned at the beginning of the call, I live in the Jersey area, and I’ve known a lot of disgruntled and sad Jets fans through the years, and he’s brought hope, and a very critical media and fan base and a lot harsher than most across the country.

There’s a tremendous sense of excitement because of him, and he’s handled it, I think, all the right way, and he’s embraced New York, and it’s been fun to watch.

Q. Mike or Cris, anything you guys want to add in your time talking to him?

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: I don’t know how Mike feels about it, but if you ever had like a really hard class and they decide that you get called on in class and you’re going to have one of those exams and the teacher is going to figure out just how much you know, it’s kind of like interviewing Aaron. You’d better bring something to the table that perks him up and gets his attention because he’s going to bring back something from some book written in ancient Egypt.

A couple times I’ve found myself going, hey, Aaron, I’m a simple guy. I watch football. That’s all. I don’t know what you’re talking about here.

But he kind of has a twinkle in his eye right now. I’ve been interviewing him for so long now that — I don’t know, Mike or Melissa, if you guys felt this, but he just seems happy. He seems engaged. He seems like he has something to prove but he didn’t have the burden of having something to prove, and he was enjoying being in New York City.

I don’t know how it’s going to go. I don’t think he knows how it’s going to go. But there was a happiness to him right now that was palpable.

Maybe he’s just enjoying teaching or I don’t know what it is, but when he gets like that, sometimes he can be really tough to beat.

MIKE TIRICO: Echo all that. Been doing production meetings with Aaron for 15 years. We got to call his first start on a Monday night in Lambeau September 8, 2008, and from that meeting on, every time you get to talk to Aaron Rodgers is eye opening, different than the rote answers you might get from other players. He’s just a deep-thinking, introspective guy who, when there’s a comfort level with the folks on the other side of the table, he opens up and says a lot more than many do.

Most of it is incredibly interesting. I always like to ask him what book are you reading right now because he always gives you a book that has some unique twist to it, and I agree with everything Melissa and Cris just said.

He’s provided a juice to the Jets’ franchise, an energy to the New York market which has been missing that in the NFL for the last several years, and he’s not that far removed from being the back-to-back MVP of the league. Only a year removed.

I think we all watch with great interest, and the opener against Buffalo will be fabulous on that opening Monday night, and then we’ve got him Week 4 against Mahomes, which has never happened before. Those guys haven’t hooked up. So that’ll be fun.

We’re so excited to see him and see this play out this year.

Q. This is a question for everyone. There was a lot of discussion in the off-season about whether teams are devaluing running backs, and I was interested to hear, where do each of you stand in that debate, and for this season who do you think are going to be the top running backs?

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: I’m going to say I think that they have been devalued. I always feel a little guilty about this because some of our PFF numbers show that sometimes rushing yards have more to do with the offensive line than they do the running backs.

But it’s hard to — when you see Christian McCaffrey go in and what he was able to do with San Francisco after that trade, considering what he’s meant, yeah, it’s a tough one.

It’s probably one that should be addressed in collective bargaining because of the fact that they’re a very unique group that has a small window. So if they’re a first-round draft pick and you can tag them for a couple years at this lower-end price, basically a running back can run out his entire career without them being able to take a shot at that big-money second contract or third contract that some players get.

Whether it’s Saquon, whether it’s Jonathan Taylor, whoever you want to talk about, in a way it’s kind of sad to watch because we enjoy watching them so much and they’re such a part of the broadcast and Fantasy Football and all that goes with the very public side, sort of an underappreciation of their talents is — I understand their frustration. I do understand.

MIKE TIRICO: I think the system has just forced this hand a little bit, and as Cris said, it’s unfortunate because, one, there are so many star players and terrific players at the running back position year after year. Secondly, with the importance and interest level in Fantasy Football, people as fans across the country become very attached to these running backs because of their value in Fantasy Football, and then they don’t get that same treatment that the sack master off the edge or the quarterback gets in terms of that third contract or even second big contract like Cris said.

Think about how many running backs have been great in the last 10 years in year eight, nine and 10 of their careers. There just haven’t been that many. So economically for GMs, you understand, and if your team invests a lot of long-term money in a running back, as a fan you’d probably be one of the first to call your local sports talk station and complain that this GM isn’t giving us the flexibility to win like other guys. So that system has just kind of caught up to the running backs.

I don’t know if there’s a way out because I don’t know how you creatively find something in the CBA to say let’s take care of running backs differently than every other position group. That’s something that the market has set, and really those guys have gotten the raw end of the deal, and I don’t see it changing in the short term.

Those guys unfortunately, although their voices are loud because we all know them, they’ve said the right things, and as fans you feel bad for them. I don’t know if there’s an answer to clean that up in the next six to nine months.

Q. What do you expect from Giants-Cowboys on Sunday night in Week 1 here, and how do you think the Giants’ success last season impacts expectations for year two under Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen?

MELISSA STARK: We expect a great game. If you look at past history, obviously it’s a little lopsided.

We had the Cowboys in Week 1 last year, and there was so much excitement about Dak Prescott and all the things — I remember I had a sideline report about everything he had done in the off-season to make sure he was healthy and in good shape, and then the finger at the end of that game, and their season seemed to be derailed. It was not a good start for the Cowboys, and you just never know how these things are going to pan out.

But with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys organization and being America’s team, there’s always huge expectations for this team, and I expect a great match-up. I can’t wait.

MIKE TIRICO: I’ll go so Cris can have the last word. Hey, the Cowboys, the volume is always on 10 with the Cowboys. It’s always max attention, max noise. Hey, sure, let’s bring Trey Lance in here just to stir it up a little bit. How do you not love what the Cowboys have given us in terms of storylines for forever really but certainly over the last years.

Now, the interesting part of this is this has been such a great rivalry for generations, and now you feel a little bit of energy with the Giants. We were able to go to Allen Park where the Lions’ headquarters is in Michigan to watch the Giants and the Lions have a couple of days of joint practices before they played, and Cris, we had a chance to visit with Joe Schoen, their GM, and talk to Brian Daboll a little bit.

Last year was really good. They kind of got in and got the thing going in the right direction, but now you feel like they’re starting to add some pieces that fit what they want to do, and you see, much like the Jets, a turned-positive energy around this coaching staff in New York and an excitement around the Giants’ organization that we haven’t seen in the last few years.

For all of their off-season questions of Daniel Jones this or Saquon Barkley that, they’re both back, they’ve added more pieces. I think Darren Waller is going to be really interesting to watch as he builds a connection with Daniel Jones. It’ll certainly make Daniel Jones a different and a better quarterback having a tight end like Waller who can do some unique things within the passing game.

On the defensive side, it’s never dull with Wink Martindale and the pressures he brings, and a couple of these late additions the Giants have made at the end of the preseason, players who will be really intriguing to watch in that system.

Giants-Cowboys never lacks for sizzle, and I think with what we’ve had in this off-season from both sides, it’s ratcheted up one more notch to back where it has been for many, many years when Cris has been doing these Giants-Cowboys games over the years to start the season.

CRIS COLLINSWORTH: Yeah, I’ll tell you, I really appreciate what Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen have done with this team. That came out of nowhere, their making the playoffs and winning a playoff game a season ago, and that really was without being very good at all in their division.

I’m really curious.

The thing that they lacked was explosive plays. They just couldn’t get easy yards or easy touchdowns, and they went out to fix that. They went out and got Darren Waller, who he’s right, he was not right last year. He had a bad hamstring and just could not make those big plays.

But he can be sort of one of one in many ways in this league. Teams will leave him on the single receiver side, and if you choose to just put a corner or just a safety on him, they’ll just throw the ball up in the air all day and let him out-rebound whoever he want to put over there.

Jalin Hyatt has a chance to add that speed component to this football team and see exactly what that might mean; Darius Slayton can fly down the field; Saquon Barkley, one of the top backs.

It probably comes down to a little bit of what this offensive line looks like. Andrew Thomas, clearly the best on that team, but they’ve got a rookie center. They’ve had a different center in there every single year, and now they’ll do it again with a rookie. Evan Neal playing right tackle is going to have to be better.

They’re just going to have to be able to hold up against one of the best pass rushing teams in the whole league in DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons, and those guys will be coming hard in this one.

Can they block them? Can they create some big plays in a way they haven’t in the past? I’m really curious to see if the Giants can do it again. They surprised me last year. They just surprised me.

I think that Daboll will prove that he is really one of the better coaches in the league.

–NBC SPORTS–

NBC Sports Presents Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs Hosting Detroit Lions in NFL Kickoff Game Next Thurs., Sept. 7 at 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock, and Universo)

Dallas Cowboys Visit New York Giants in SNF Opener on Sept. 10 at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, and Universo

Dial 786-697-3501 to Participate; Passcode: NBC Sports

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 30, 2023 – NBC Sports’ Sunday Night Football announce team, featuring Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth in the booth and Melissa Stark on the sidelines, will join coordinating producer Rob Hyland to preview the upcoming season on a media conference call today, August 30, at 2 p.m. ET.

NBC Sports presents two games on NFL Kickoff Weekend, beginning next Thursday, Sept. 7 at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and Universo with NFL Kickoff 2023 from GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., as two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, winners of two of the last four Super Bowls, raise their Super Bowl LVII banner before hosting Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions, who won eight of their final 10 games last season.

In the season opener of Sunday Night Football on Sunday, Sept. 10 (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, and Universo), a pair of NFC East playoff teams meet as Daniel Jones and the New York Giants host Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. The matchup marks the series-high fifth time that the Cowboys and Giants have met in the opening NBC Sunday Night Football game.

Media interested in participating should call 786-697-3501; Passcode: NBC Sports

• • WHAT: NBC Sports 2023 Sunday Night Football Media Conference Call
  • WHO: Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark, Rob Hyland
  • WHEN: Today, August 30, at 2 p.m. ET
  • NUMBER: 786-697-3501
  • PASSCODE: NBC Sports

—NBC SPORTS—