“It’s must-see football. These guys are exciting to watch. They’re making big plays all over the place.” – Drew Brees on the Bengals
“Antonio Brown is a great football player -- and I think he’s going to be the key for the Bucs repeating if they do get another Super Bowl -- but his middle name is ‘drama’ so that’s always going to be a storyline with him.” – Tony Dungy on Brown’s post-game press conference
“If I’m Bill Belichick, I’m starting to panic about my run defense. It needs to shore up.” – Rodney Harrison
“Watch out, the Chiefs are scary again. Shocker.” – Chris Simms
“I would say Matt Rhule has 99 problems and being an overnight sensation is not one of them.” – Maria Taylor on Matt Rhule’s reference to Jay-Z in his post-game press conference
“No one took a bigger hit in the AFC playoff race today than the Los Angeles Chargers. So, they’re the big loser on the day.” – Steve Kornacki
STAMFORD, Conn. – Dec. 26, 2021 – NBC Sports’ presentation of Week 16 of the 2021 NFL season began tonight from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Washington-Dallas on Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock.
Maria Taylor hosted FNIA from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn., and was joined by Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, Super Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees, and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms. Two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison joined co-host Jac Collinsworth at the site of the game. NFL Insider Mike Florio provided reports from his home studio. NBC News’ Steve Kornacki joined Football Night to break down the NFL playoff scenarios. Mike Tirico had the night off.
Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Michele Tafoya (sideline reporter) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) are calling tonight’s game.
For the first time ever, Football Night in America and Sunday Night Football are streaming on Peacock Premium every week this season. Viewers can sign up here. Peacock Premium is included at no additional cost for Comcast’s eligible Xfinity X1 and Flex customers and Cox Contour customers.
NBC Sports’ new post-game show Peacock Sunday Night Football Final streams tonight exclusively on Peacock following Sunday Night Football.
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Following are highlights from tonight’s edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:
ON COWBOYS
Brees on the Cowboys defense: “Who would’ve thought at this point in the season that we would be talking about Dallas’ defense leading this team…The defense is playing extremely well, and really it’s the offense now that’s trying to keep up.”
Dungy: “And because of that defense, now you can be a different team. You don’t have to throw it 58 times. You can run the ball…take advantage of that field position, but you’ve got to believe in that style of play…I think Dallas can win that way.”
Harrison on LB Micah Parsons: “I played with a lot of great players, but I’ve not seen anyone like this kid.”
Harrison on Cowboys running backs: “I love both of these running backs, but I think Tony Pollard deserves to get more carries. I think he’s the better back. I think he’s a lot more explosive.”
Harrison: “This team is deep at every single position, and I believe that they can go to Tampa, they can go to Green Bay, they can go anywhere in the National Football League and win and go to the Super Bowl.”
Harrison on what feels different for the Dallas offense when tackle Tyron Smith plays: “Everything, everything. The run game, the pass game. Dak Prescott seems like he’s a different guy because he has his bully protecting him.”
ON WASHINGTON
Dungy on QB Taylor Heinicke: “I love him. He improvises, he makes plays. He’s got to walk that fine line -- be aggressive but take care of the football.”
ON BILLS
Dungy: “Who goes into New England and wins games late in the year? Well, Josh Allen said, ‘I can do it.’ He was the man in New England.”
Simms on QB Josh Allen: “He’s the greatest one-man show in the sport right now…Allen was amazing play after play today.”
Dungy: “Josh Allen made these plays all day long, the crucial plays -- third and fourth down on the scrambles, making it happen. He was fantastic.”
Simms: “You could have the perfect defense called, and you can’t stop Josh Allen. His physical ability to buy time in the pocket and then of course these special throws…Fourth-and-one, third-and-15, get the ball in Josh Allen’s hands. He’s hard to stop.”
Brees: “I do feel like there was a turning point for them when they played the Bucs. Even though they lost, in the second half of that game, they completely flipped around and really put themselves in a position to win after they were down 24-3. So, if they can continue to play the way they’re playing right now, look out because they’re one of the most dangerous teams in the league.”
Harrison on the Bills defense: “They remember what happened to them earlier in the season when the Patriots flat-out embarrassed them. Buffalo came out, they were aggressive, they played smart, they played physical, and they got after Mac Jones…I just thought they did an excellent job of frustrating Mac Jones.”
ON PATRIOTS
Jac Collinsworth: “They had won seven in a row, but now they’ve been handled two weeks in a row by likely AFC playoff teams.”
Harrison on the Patriots’ back-to-back losses: “If I’m Bill Belichick, I’m starting to panic about my run defense. It needs to shore up. And I’m a little concerned about my young quarterback because the last couple of weeks he’s turned the ball over.”
Dungy: “Defensively, I’m a little concerned. What do we always say, ‘Well, Bill Belichick he takes away what you do best.’ Last week, we knew the Colts were going to go in and run the ball. They didn’t take that away. This week, Buffalo is going to throw the ball. They’re not a running team. They didn’t take that away. That’s not the kind of defense I’m used to seeing from the Patriots.”
ON CHIEFS
Simms: “I think the biggest thing is we know the defense has been awesome the last six or seven weeks – I mean dominant awesome…but what’s scary right now is here comes the offense…For the past few weeks, (quarterback Patrick Mahomes) is playing smarter football, accurate with all his throws, good decision-making…Watch out, the Chiefs are scary again. Shocker.”
ON BUCCANEERS
Dungy on WR Antonio Brown’s post-game press conference: “Antonio Brown is a great football player, and I think he’s going to be the key for the Bucs if they key to the Bucs repeating if they do get another Super Bowl, but his middle name is ‘drama’ so that’s always going to be a storyline with him.”
Brees: “Bottom line is I think it’s impossible to totally replace a guy like Chris Godwin…You don’t just replace that, but I think that it’s certainly going to elevate Antonio Brown’s role in this offense and some of those young receivers.”
ON RAMS
Dungy on the Rams offense: “When they’re at their best, they’re pounding the football and taking advantage with play-action passes…When they’re really effective, they get that running game going early, and they got it today.”
ON BENGALS
Simms on QB Joe Burrow: “You talk about another hot quarterback…This was the story of the game. Joe Burrow dicing up this Ravens defense. Whoever he wanted to throw to, it was big-play completions.”
Florio on QB Joe Burrow and passing for 525 yards vs. the Ravens: “I asked him when it became evident that they had a chance to get to 500 (passing yards). He said sometime in the fourth quarter they realized they had a shot, and they went for it. And he makes no apologies for getting to that mark. He told me, ‘This is the NFL. This isn’t peewee, this isn’t high school. You play until the final whistle. I don’t care what the score is. We’ve been in spots where teams go out and do that to us. They did it to us last year. No sympathy from me.’”
Brees: “It’s must-see football. These guys are exciting to watch. They’re making big plays all over the place…bottom line, it looks like they’re having fun out there.”
Dungy: “We’ve seen three or four games like this where we’re about to say, ‘This is the best team in the AFC North’ and then they’ll come out with one of those bad games. Well, they’ve got Kansas City next week in a really, really big game. I want to see if they can show up, if they’re ready for the big stage.”
ON CHARGERS
Brees: “The big disappointment today, how about the L.A. Chargers…This was a game today that they just had to have, and everyone expected them to win so they could solidify themselves into that Wild Card position, but now they don’t control their own destiny…I still think there’s going to be some fireworks, but they certainly made it harder on themselves.”
Kornacki: “No one took a bigger hit in the AFC playoff race today than the Los Angeles Chargers. So, they’re the big loser on the day.”
ON TEXANS
Simms: “They outplayed the Chargers. This wasn’t some upset or fluke. They legitimately won this one.”
ON PANTHERS
Taylor on head coach Matt Rhule’s reference to Jay-Z in his post-game press conference: “I would say Matt Rhule has 99 problems and being an overnight sensation is not one of them.”
ON SEAHAWKS
Simms: “The Seahawks blew so many opportunities to control this game and put it away.”
ON JETS
Simms on QB Zach Wilson’s touchdown run: “This is a modern-day quarterback, and this is why he was the No. 2 pick. He not only has a great arm but he, like (Jaguars quarterback) Trevor Lawrence, can beat you with his arm or his legs.”
Simms on Wilson and Lawrence: “Let’s not write their future or their history after just watching their rookie year…They can do special things throwing the ball, running the ball, they seem like they can read defenses. So, I think the future is bright.”
–FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA–
