“I don’t care what they say about Dak Prescott. He’s a great leader…and with that defense, I definitely believe they can make a long run.” – Rodney Harrison
“It was like the 49ers were in fast forward and the Steelers were in slow motion. They certainly looked like the best team in Week 1.” – Chris Simms
“Big shoes to fill, but there’s some love for Love going on in Green Bay.” – Devin McCourty on Packers QB Jordan Love
Peacock Sunday Night Football Final Streams EXCLUSIVELY on Peacock Following Cowboys-Giants and Every Sunday Night Football Game During 2023 Season
STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 10, 2023 – NBC Sports’ presentation of Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season continued tonight from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Cowboys-Giants on Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock.
Maria Taylor hosted FNIA from NBC Sports’ Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn. She was joined by former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, three-time Super Bowl Champion Devin McCourty, former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, NFL Insider Mike Florio, and fantasy sports industry pioneer Matthew Berry. Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy and two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison joined co-host Jac Collinsworth at the site of the game.
Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Melissa Stark (sideline reporter) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) are calling tonight’s game.
Football Night also included Maria Taylor’s interview with Micah Parsons. Click here to watch.
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Following are highlights from tonight’s edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:
ON COWBOYS
Harrison on the Cowboys’ postseason expectations: “I think the Cowboys can make a deep playoff run. I don’t care what they say about Dak Prescott. He’s a great leader, he’s a really good player, and I love the changes they made on the offensive side, making Tony Pollard their lead back and adding Brandin Cooks. And with that defense, I definitely believe they can make a long run.”
Garrett on the Cowboys: “High expectations in Dallas and there should be. Lost in the Divisional Round last year and they’re a better team this year. They added (cornerback) Stephon Gilmore and (wide receiver) Brandin Cooks. The interesting thing is (they were) number four in scoring offense last year, and now (head coach) Mike McCarthy is going to take over the playcalling. He says he wants to run the ball more. It’s going to be interesting to watch.”
Dungy on McCarthy as a play-caller: “He’s been a great play-caller over his career. He’ll get Dak Prescott going, he’ll cut down on the interceptions. But I worry about the game management, the clock management, the penalties. Those have been the things that have really hurt the Cowboys in the past. How does that now work with (McCarthy) calling the plays?”
Garrett on Prescott’s 2022 season: “Last year there was too much of a burden on him…He had one legit receiver in CeeDee Lamb. As the season went on and they played better teams, he took too much of the burden on and was trying to do too much.”
McCourty: “As a defender, you look and you say, ‘This is a really good player, but he’s going to give us opportunity.’ When you watch the film last year, you see that…Turnovers lead to victories. Defenses preach that all the time.”
McCourty on what makes LB Micah Parsons great: “It’s his versatility. The offense doesn’t always know where Micah Parsons is going to be. He goes out, he plays hard. He has a great motor to go with his skillset.”
Garrett on Parsons: “This guy’s the most disruptive player in the NFL.”
McCourty to Garrett and Simms: “You guys know I wasn’t a great quarterback in my day, so I’m going to ask you two: how do you get over that? You throw interceptions one year, how do you come back the next year and say, ‘That’s not me’?”
Garrett: “You have two Hall of Fame linemen, you have bigtime playmakers outside, Pollard’s dynamic. Just play within the system, get your playmakers the ball. (Prescott is) going to be fine.”
Simms: “That’s right. I wasn’t a great quarterback either, so don’t ask me (laughs) … Great defense, they have a great run game. Jason said it right — that’s not like him. Just understand that you have help around you and play within the team…and let them carry you a little bit.”
ON GIANTS
Dungy on the chemistry between Giants head coach Brian Daboll and QB Daniel Jones: “Coach Daboll has really taken the things that Daniel Jones does well and implemented them, using him on play action passes, getting him outside the pocket, design runs. I think that he’s just going to continue to improve just like Josh Allen did when Daboll had him.”
McCourty: “When you play in the Big Apple like the New York Giants, everyone expects you to win. The Giants, they snuck up on some teams last year. We weren’t sure how they were going to be — new head coach taking over with Daniel Jones. Now they have that target on their back…They have to show up and try to win. Not just eeking and squeaking by teams, but come out and dominate.”
Harrison on TE Darren Waller’s potential impact on the Giants offense: “I’ve been in this league for 30 years, I haven’t seen a tight end with his size, speed, and athleticism. He’s going to put a lot of pressure on the middle of the defense…He’s just so big, so physical. I think he’s going to really help Daniel Jones out.”
Dungy on DL Dexter Lawrence: “One of the best interior players in the National Football League…What they’re really going to need from him tonight is controlling the line of scrimmage in the run game.”
ON 49ERS
Garrett on the 49ers: “They flew from San Francisco to Pittsburgh, and they dominated the Steelers. (Brock) Purdy with a stellar performance, he looked fantastic. Christian McCaffrey was off the charts, and how about that defense? … They were everywhere. Fred Warner is my leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year after Week 1.”
Simms on the 49ers’ win against the Steelers: “It was like the 49ers were in fast forward and the Steelers were in slow motion. They certainly looked like the best team in Week 1…The talent in the front seven, it’s as good as anybody in football.”
Garrett on the 49ers’ defense: “Two best defenses I ever played against: the Baltimore Ravens and Coach Dungy’s Bucs. This 49ers defense looks a lot like those guys. They’re pretty simple in what they do but they’re everywhere.”
Simms on QB Brock Purdy: “It ain’t Purdy good, it’s really good. I don’t know what else to say. He’s on point, I can’t believe the guy is coming off an elbow injury.”
ON PACKERS
Simms on Packers QB Jordan Love: “Jordan Love was composed all game long. The moment wasn’t too big for him, and you saw how patient he was in the pocket…he played within himself. He didn’t force any balls, he wasn’t perfect, but when people were open, he threw strikes. It wasn’t just dink-and-dunk, there was downfield passing to go with it.”
McCourty: “Green Bay knows what they’re doing. That front office has made great decisions. Big shoes to fill, but there’s some love for Love going on in Green Bay.”
ON BROWNS
McCourty: “They showed up and really punched Cincy in the mouth…We know Myles Garrett keeps a graveyard with quarterbacks. He said, ‘Joe Burrow, come stay at my house for a little bit.’ … That defense played as good as any defense can play in Week 1.”
Florio on speaking with DE Myles Garrett after the game: “It was during the week that Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase said that Cleveland is Cleveland. And that was a mistake because it upset Myles Garrett and Garrett told me, ‘They’ll say Cleveland is Cleveland, but we’re going to make that a great thing instead of what they’re trying to make it out to be.’ He also liked the fact that it made it easier to get the rest of the team ready to go. He also liked the fact the new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is moving him all over the place so he can be even more effective this year than he could be in the past.”
ON JAGUARS
Simms on QB Trevor Lawrence: “On the road against a young rookie quarterback and Trevor Lawrence (picks up) right where he left off last year.”
McCourty on WR Calvin Ridley: “He’s that guy on Jacksonville now that you don’t have to draw up a play for…He can just win backside one-on-one and then when Trevor Lawrence scrambles, what do you do? You look for your favorite target…All throughout the game, you can see they kept finding his speed, his quickness. His ability to get away from the defender is what separates him.”
ON DOLPHINS
Simms on the Dolphins’ offense: “They’ve got so much speed – it’s like a track meet, between (Tyreek) Hill, (Jaylen) Waddle and (Raheem) Mostert. They’re just fun to watch, they’ve got fast guys running all over the field.”
ON BUCCANEERS
Garrett on QB Baker Mayfield: “How about Baker? Making plays when he needed to, both with his arm and with his feet. He was big-time in situational football.”
Simms on Tampa Bay’s defense: “They were all around Cousins throughout the game, even in the first half when things were going good. The defense came up big.”
Florio on the significance of the Buccaneers’ Week 1 win against the Vikings: “They weren’t happy with the offseason narrative that they were going to stink post-Tom Brady, and Baker Mayfield said, ‘We knew what people were saying. We’re aware of the talent and character in this locker room.’ Today they went into a tough environment and proved they can compete.”
ON VIKINGS
McCourty on Vikings QB Kirk Cousins: “All the talk is always, ‘Cousins doesn’t win the big games.’ Let’s get the guy some protection and stop getting hit so much because then maybe we’ll see a better Cousins and his team winning those big games.”
Simms: “There’s no run game to look at, so it’s all on Cousins and (Justin) Jefferson. I think that’s an issue going forward.”
ON SAINTS
Simms on QB Derek Carr: “They paid him big money, he played big-time football today. Every big moment when they needed a big throw, Derek Carr came through in the clutch.”
ON COMMANDERS
Simms on QB Sam Howell: “He’s gritty and tough and he made some big throws…as Jason Garrett always says, he has some moxie, and he has good feel of when to hang in the pocket and when to get out of the pocket.”
ON RAVENS
Simms on the Ravens defense against Texans rookie QB C.J. Stroud: “You don’t want to have a debut against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore, I can just tell you that. You’re going to see blitzes, creative defense…This Ravens defense (was) all around him.”
Florio: “They lost four starters to injury on Sunday. Safety Marcus Williams, peck injury. Tackle Ronnie Stanley, knee injury. Center Tyler Linderbaum, ankle injury…The big one though, starting running back J.K. Dobbins, torn Achilles, out for the year. What does that mean for the Ravens offense?”
Berry on the Ravens run game: “Obviously Lamar (Jackson) is always going to be involved. With the running backs, you’re looking at Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, they’ll split the carries, but look for more opportunities for Zay Flowers. He got two carries today in his debut and looked electric.”
ON RAMS
Garrett on the Rams’ upset victory over the Seahawks: “Everybody was on Seattle’s bandwagon, and everybody forgot about Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams.”
ON FALCONS
Taylor on Falcons rookie RB Bijan Robinson’s touchdown catch vs. Carolina: “I wanted to give a shout out to Bijan Robinson, the No. 8 overall pick at running back. That stutter step was just filthy. As many times as we can put it on air, we probably should.”
ON PATRIOTS
McCourty on the Patriots: “Last year, a lot of the games flowed like that, where you’d play well on defense and then the offense wouldn’t score. Do something else on defense – you might even score a touchdown – and then the offense would turn the ball over. A better start for the Patriots, but not exactly the way they want to play the game.”
McCourty on seeing Tom Brady run out on the field during a pregame ceremony: “I was ready to run out there when I saw him run out there like that. He got me hyped up, I have goosebumps right now (laughs).”
ON PANTHERS
Garrett on Panthers rookie QB Bryce Young’s first NFL start: “I loved Bryce Young’s demeanor in this ballgame. You can tell he’s been in big games. This was not too big for him, but there were a lot of instances where you watch him play and he’s going to learn from this. Carolina cannot stretch the field like you want to right now. Atlanta took advantage of it…Carolina has a quarterback that they’re going to have for a long time.”
Simms: “He’s going to learn that because they can’t stretch the offense, he’s got to see throws over the middle. It will be very important there.”
ON COLTS
McCourty on QB Anthony Richardson: “Yes, they fell a little short, but I thought the gameplan plays they had – the design runs, the QB draws – and some of the decision-making was really good for him. If I’m in Indy, the future looks pretty bright with Anthony Richardson.”
Garrett: “Think about how Shane Steichen used Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia, it’s the same gameplan…Richardson looked comfortable.”
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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.
— Football Night in America —
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