“Kick it out of bounds and go into overtime. I couldn’t believe it.” – Tony Dungy on Giants failure to punt out of bounds in game’s final minute
“I thought they gained a lot of confidence playing tough against the Patriots, and they go out to Oakland and completely fall apart.” – Rodney Harrison on Jets, who he said had the worst loss of the day
“This was a Pittsburgh ugly fist fight, nobody making pretty plays, just defense, and ugly. And the Bengals won that game?” – Cris Collinsworth on the difference in this year’s 7-0 Bengals vs. past teams
“There was no energy, there was no execution, no pass protection and very little tackling. So I don’t know where they go from here.” – Dungy on Lions
STAMFORD, Conn. – November 1, 2015 – Following are highlights from Football Night in America, which aired prior to NBC’s Sunday Night Football matchup between the undefeated Green Bay Packers (6-0) and the undefeated Denver Broncos (6-0). Bob Costas opened the show live from inside Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., and was joined on site by Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth, sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, and NBC NFL analyst Hines Ward.
Dan Patrick co-hosted Football Night, the most-watched studio show in sports, from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn. He was joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy; two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison; and NFL Insider Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com. Kathryn Tappen reported from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., on the Seahawks-Cowboys game.
Costas interviewed Packers QB Aaron Rodgers.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America:
ON BRONCOS
Collinsworth on fitting Peyton Manning into Gary Kubiak’s system: “This is an organization that made the decision to go to Kubiak for the long term, and not necessarily for the short term…I think they felt like they could find a way to make it work, to blend it together. They’re spending a lot of time together now together trying to figure it out, but so far it has not worked.”
Dungy on how he’d jump start Peyton Manning: “I’d go back to no huddle. Let him operate fast paced. That would spur him on.”
ON PACKERS
Ward: “If I’m Aaron Rogers, I’m attacking second-year cornerback Bradley Roby. He’s very talented, but he gets lazy with his technique, and he guesses a lot.”
ON GIANTS
Dungy: “There’s 20 seconds left. The only way this game doesn’t go into overtime is a long punt return. Remember kicking to DeSean Jackson on the last play of the game a few years ago? Same (thing). Kick it out of bounds and go into overtime. I couldn’t believe it.”
ON JETS
Patrick on free agent QB Ryan Mallett, who Florio said is one to keep an eye on as the Jets possibly look to sign a QB due to injuries to both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith: “Just get him an alarm clock. Just get him on the plane.”
Harrison on who had the worst loss today: “I would say the Jets. I was really surprised. Last week I thought they gained a lot of confidence playing tough against the Patriots, and they go out to Oakland and completely fall apart. Not ready.”
ON RAIDERS
Dungy: “They are legit. They’ve got some young playmakers. We talk all year about the Jets and how good are they, maybe they’re a Wild Card team. Well, the Raiders have the same record and now they have the tiebreaker head-to-head in wins. So this is the team to look out for.”
Harrison: “I like the Raiders. I like them, specifically, on defense. You talked about the young guys on offense, but Charles Woodson, he’s playing amazing. Five interceptions this year.”
ON BENGALS
Collinsworth: “Say it slowly, boys…7-0…Cincinnati Bengals (laughs).”
Harrison: “This is a different Bengals team. They approached this game like it was a playoff-type game. We saw some nerves, they had some mistakes, but they finished, and that’s what we’re not used to seeing from the Bengals.”
Patrick: “All we want to know is how are they going to do in a post-season game?”
Harrison: “I believe in the Bengals.”
Collinsworth: “This was a Pittsburgh ugly fist fight, nobody making pretty plays, just defense, and ugly. And the Bengals won that game? They never beat the Steelers in one of those kinds of games. I thought that was the biggest statement of the day.”
Dungy: “I like Cincinnati, but I don’t think they’re ready for the Patriots.”
Harrison: “I don’t think they’re ready, either.”
ON SEAHAWKS
Dungy: “I thought the Seattle offensive coaching staff did a good job of helping Russell Wilson stay away from Greg Hardy.”
ON VIKINGS
Dungy on QB Teddy Bridgewater: “They love this guy because of his toughness and because of the fact that he doesn’t flinch in the clutch.”
ON RAMS
Dungy on if the Rams are for real: “Yes, they are. They’ve got Todd Gurley. They’ve got a great defense and they’re a very, very physical team.”
Harrison: “The thing I’m impressed with is that they’re coming to play every single week.”
ON LIONS
Dungy on if Jim Caldwell’s job is in jeopardy: “I don’t think he’s in trouble but this was ugly football today. There was no energy, there was no execution, no pass protection and very little tackling. So I don’t know where they go from here.”
ON FALCONS
Harrison: “I’m concerned about the Falcons…(Matt Ryan) only has chemistry with one wide receiver (Julio Jones) so that has to be a concern.”
ON LATE-GAME COACHING DECISIONS
Dungy: “I see some end-of-the-game things that just have me scratching my head. Lovie Smith almost cost his Buccaneers a game, and Tom Coughlin did cost his team a game.”
AARON RODGERS WITH BOB COSTAS
http://www.nbcsports.com/video/aaron-rodgers-i-dreamed-about-having-freedom-peyton
On watching Peyton Manning before he was in the league: “I loved watching Peyton when I was in high school, in college, and a young player in the NFL. I’d often dream about having the freedom that he had at the line of scrimmage. The ability to get in and out of checks, run the pass, pass the run, the quick pace that he used to operate at, the fact he stayed in basically the same formation — either two-by-two or three-by-one — the entire way down the field. I always thought that the way he ran the offense was incredible.”
On whether he will play into his 40’s: “Tom [Brady] is saying 48…that would be pretty impressive. The thing that struck me about what he said was, he said what else am I going to do, and I kind of feel the same way.”
On the Packers playing the Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII: “I think I was pulling for the Packers. After Montana moved on, and the 49ers were out of it that year, I was a big Favre fan, so I was pulling for the Packers to win. I always enjoyed watching John Elway, but I was definitely a Packer fan. I do remember that it was a back-and-forth game, and they came up a little short there in the fourth down.”
On having a better read on his team after they play Denver and Carolina (Nov. 8): “It’s tough to win on the road in this league, so it will be two good tests for us. As we saw last year, it’s important to get that home-field advantage because we know how difficult it is to play in Lambeau in the winter time. In order to get that opportunity with the way things are shaping up in our league, especially in the South, we’re going to have to win these games coming up. Win the tough ones on the road and then, obviously hold court when we go back home, and go through a stretch of four straight division games.”
–FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA–
Recent Comments