“He’s still maybe the most dangerous guy in football in the open field. He reminded all of the Giants fans what they are missing today.” – Chris Simms on Eagles RB Saquon Barkley
“They have everything. They’ve got a great coordinator, great linemen, great receivers, great runners...but the story today is Jared Goff. This guy has been on fire for the last month.” – Jason Garrett on the Lions
“Why is this team not tough? When you hear a team isn’t tough and they are soft, you think what is the head coach doing?”– Devin McCourty on the head coach Jerod Mayo calling the Patriots soft
Peacock Sunday Night Football Final Streams Exclusively on Peacock Following Jets-Steelers and Every Sunday Night Football Game During 2024 Season
STAMFORD, Conn. – October 20, 2024 – NBC Sports’ presentation of Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season continued tonight from Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa., with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Jets-Steelers on Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock.
Maria Taylor hosted FNIA from NBC Sports’ Studio 3 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.
Pre-game coverage included Jac Collinsworth’s interview on the field with Steelers QB Russell Wilson and Garrett’s post-game interview with Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown.
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Following are highlights from tonight’s edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:
ON JETS
Harrison on the Jets veterans helping interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich adjust to new responsibilities: “Part of the reason why you pay those veteran players is because you know they’re going to police the locker room and help handle everything on the defensive side.”
Mike Tirico on Jets QB Aaron Rodgers and WR Davante Adams: “We’ve probably done a half dozen Aaron Rodgers production meetings a year, but last night was different. We sat down with Aaron and Davante Adams and we couldn’t get the smiles off their faces. You really sense bringing these guys back together felt like a college reunion. Two guys who haven’t seen each other in years, back in business.”
Garrett on Adams: “When you bring a guy like this in, this veteran player who can be the number one receiver, it gets the defense’s attention. Now you add for Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, the history they have together. Accomplished players, they’ve had so much success. He’s going to add so much juice to that offense. Garrett Wilson will get some single coverage now. All the other guys will benefit from this.”
ON STEELERS
Dungy on the Steelers’ decision to start QB Russell Wilson: “It really wasn’t a surprise to me. The Steelers have been winning with defense and their running game. Mike Tomlin wants to energize this passing game and I think Russell will do that.”
Harrison on the Steelers’ defense: “They’re a good defense, not a great defense. When you look at their defense, it’s a basic defense. They don’t do a lot of blitzes. They don’t do a lot of exotic things. But what I do like is that they’re starting to bring Minkah Fitzpatrick closer to the line. He makes a lot of tackles, he just doesn’t make a lot of plays on the ball.”
Harrison on Wilson taking over the starting job: “It just feels different out here. It seems like they have more energy compared to two weeks ago. One thing about Russ, he throws such a beautiful deep pass, I think this offense will become a lot more explosive.”
ON PATRIOTS
McCourty on head coach Jerod Mayo saying the Patriots are soft: “The first thing I think of is toughness isn’t a skillset. You don’t need to be fast or do anything special to be tough. The second part of that is, why Jerod? Why is this team not tough? When you hear a team isn’t tough and they are soft, you think, ‘What is the head coach doing?’ How is he getting them ready to go? Mayo and that staff have a lot of questions to answer going in the next week.”
ON JAGUARS
McCourty on the Jaguars: “Jacksonville dominated this game – special teams, offense, Brian Thomas had some big plays scoring touchdowns. Jacksonville really came out and showed that they were playing for (head coach) Doug Pederson.”
ON SEAHAWKS
Simms on Seahawks QB Geno Smith: “His arm and his accuracy are awesome. (The Seahawks) don’t run the ball that well and they’re a middle of the road defense, but they are 4-3 because of this guy’s ability to push the football down the field.”
ON EAGLES
Simms on Eagles RB Saquon Barkley’s performance vs. the Giants: “Oh yeah, he’s back. I’m a Giants fan, I didn’t like to see him leave, but I will say I loved watching this guy run today. I really did. He got space. He’s still maybe the most dangerous guy in football in the open field. He reminded all of the Giants fans what they are missing today.”
McCourty on the Eagles: “They beat the Giants. They beat Cleveland last week. These are not good football teams. The Eagles are finding a way to win. Remember, we said that a lot last year and then it fell apart. This team has to start to look better for them to feel confident.”
ON LIONS
Garrett on the Lions’ offense: “They have everything. They’ve got a great coordinator, great linemen, great receivers, great runners... but the story today is Jared Goff. This guy has been on fire for the last month.”
Simms on Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs: “In space, (he’s) like a Saquon Barkley. He’ll break your ankles and make you look silly.”
ON TEXANS
Garrett on Texans RB Joe Mixon: “Mixon makes this Houston offense so much better. They didn’t throw it very well today. Just hand the ball to him and good things will happen.”
ON PACKERS
McCourty on the Packers’ offense: “Let’s give some love to Jordan Love. This Green Bay Packers team, they get Houston coming in (with) C.J. Stroud and all of that good stuff. They said, ‘Don’t worry about that. We’re going to find these weapons all over the field.’ If I was a defensive player, I don’t know how we would game plan for all the guys they can throw the ball to.”
ON CHIEFS
Garrett on the Chiefs: “Kansas City just knows how to win. It’s not quite as flashy as it used to be, but week in and week out they find a way.”
McCourty on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes: “Mahomes makes all the right plays in the big moments, no matter how the game is flowing.”
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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 2024 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.
-- Football Night in America --
