Sunday NFL Countdown Feature on Cowboys Backup Quarterbacks Highlights Week 3 NFL Content on ESPN

Sunday NFL Countdown: Braylon Beam Keeps Pounding; Being the Cowboys Backup QB; and More 

Host Chris Berman and analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson will preview NFL’s week 2 action on ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown presented by Snickers on September 27, at 11 a.m. ET. Reporter/host Wendi Nix will host select segments, NFL insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter will report the day’s headlines and news, with senior analyst Matthew Berry and special contributor Stephen A. Smith.

The two-hour program will be preceded by a one-hour NFL Insiders: Sunday Edition at 10 a.m. featuring host Trey Wingo, NFL Insiders Mortensen and Schefter and NFL Front Office Insider Louis Riddick.

Reporter game assignments for week 3:

• Eagles at Jets (Sal Paolantonio)
• Colts at Titans (Bob Holtzman)
• Falcons at Cowboys (Ed Werder)
• Bengals at Ravens (Britt McHenry)
• Steelers at Rams (Josina Anderson)
• Broncos at Lions (Shelley Smith)

Features:

• Being the Cowboys Backup Quarterback: The Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback position is as demanding as it is steeped in glamor. The great ones, such as Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Tony Romo, become legendary. But their backups toil in relative obscurity. Countdown reporter Michelle Beisner examines what it means to be a backup quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. The piece includes interviews with Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, who was a backup for Aikman, Jon Kitna and Stephen McGee, who have both served as backups for Romo, as Brandon Weeden prepares to take the field this week for the injured Romo.
• Six-year-old Panthers Fan Braylon Beam Keeps Pounding: When six-year-old Braylon Beam was diagnosed with cancer in February, the young Carolina Panthers fan embraced his team’s “Keep Pounding” motto – helping him fight through treatment.  One way Braylon kept pounding was by dancing. After his dancing videos went viral, the Panthers gave him the opportunity of a lifetime – the chance to fulfill his dream of coaching football – in August when he served as an honorary coach for a day at the team’s fan-fest practice.  On Sunday before the Panthers host the New Orleans Saints, Braylon returns to the field as an honorary drummer in the “Keep Pounding” pre-game ritual that signifies battling through adversity. SportsCenter anchor Jade McCarthy.

ESPN’s Monday Night Football: Green Bay Packers Host Kansas City Chiefs

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers host Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of Super Bowl I (Packers 35, Chiefs 10) on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden will call the game with sideline reporter Lisa Salters on September 28 at 8:15 p.m. ET.

Prior to the game, Chris Berman and Suzy Kolber host Monday Night Countdown at 6 p.m. on ESPN. NFL analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson and Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter join Berman in studio, while Trent Dilfer, Ray Lewis and Steve Young provide analysis alongside Kolber at Lambeau Field.

MNF is available on ESPN Deportes and streamed live on WatchESPN for fans with video subscriptions from affiliated providers. Countdown highlights:

• Gruden’s Grill Session with Randall Cobb: Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb visits with Super Bowl-winning coach and MNF’s Jon Gruden.
• Rick Reilly Feature – Rodgers or Smith?: The 2005 NFL Draft was the tale of two quarterbacks who many expected to go 1-2 in the draft.  Alex Smith was taken No. 1 by San Francisco while Aaron Rodgers waited nearly five hours before he was selected by the Green Bay Packers at No. 24. Countdown essayist Rick Reilly takes a look at the carnage of quarterbacks, coaches and GM’s left by the 21 teams who passed on Aaron Rodgers.
• Soundtracks – The Best of Aaron Rodgers: The Packers quarterback is easily among of the best signal-callers in the league over the past five years. This week’s Soundtracks features the best in-game audio from Rodgers.

NFL Sundays on ESPN Radio – Eagles at Jets
ESPN Radio’s national coverage of Sunday afternoon NFL regular-season games will continue its third year with DeMarco Murray and the Philadelphia Eagles playing at the New York Jets and Darrelle Revis on September 27. Marc Kestecher, analyst Bill Polian and reporter Ian Fitzsimmons will call the action. ESPN Radio will broadcast a one-hour pre-game show at noon before each week’s game.

NFL Matchup: The Versatile Tyler Eifert; Aaron Rodgers’ Pre-snap Recognition; and More

NFL Matchup host Sal Paolantonio and analysts Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge preview the weekend’s NFL matchups via film-room X’s and O’s analysis Saturday, Sept. 26, at 8:30 a.m. on ESPN2 (re-air on ESPN, Sunday at 4 and 6:30 a.m.). Highlights:

• Game Within the Game – Cincinnati at Baltimore: Tyler Eifert’s versatility allows him to line up as a traditional inline tight end for the Bengals or flex out as a receiver. Hoge explains how Eifert’s positioning versus cornerbacks is becoming a focal point for Cincinnati’s offense – a matchup problem for opposing defenses.
• Between the Lines – Kansas City at Green Bay: Hoge shows how quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ pre-snap recognition and post-snap confirmation inform his decisions on where to go with the ball.
• X and O Files – Kansas City Offense: Hoge highlights a Chiefs well-crafted play that manipulated and confused the defense to get Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce wide open for a score.
• Fine Focus – Atlanta at Dallas: Play-action with two running backs lined up in the backfield has been a regular formation for the Atlanta Falcons offense through two games, explains Jaworski.

ESPN Audio’s Fourth Fall Football Tour Continues September 28
Mike & Mike will broadcast live from Green Bay, Wis., on Monday, Sept. 28, in advance of Monday Night Football’s Chiefs-Packers game.  Hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic will be live from The Tundra Trio, from 6 – 10 a.m.  The on-location show will be the second of the six-stop Fall Football Tour, which is in its fourth year. Guests include MNF’s Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden, and former Packer Antonio Freeman. Additional details

Sunday Morning SportsCenter: Emmanuel Sanders Conversation with Hannah Storm

Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders will be the subject of an in-depth interview and feature airing on this weekend’s Sunday morning editions of SportsCenter at 9 a.m. on ESPN (10 a.m., ESPN2). Anchor Hannah Storm visited Sanders in Denver this week at the Broncos practice facility.

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