“They have the best secondary in the league, and they have four corners that can start anywhere in the National Football League.” – Rodney Harrison on the Patriots
“Where’s Marvin Jones, Kenny Golladay? Get your best players out there.” – Tony Dungy on the Lions’ final play
“Everything that went well for them last year is not going well for them right now.” – Mike Tirico on the Bears
STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 3, 2019 – Mike Tirico hosted the Week 9 edition of Football Night in America tonight from NBC Sports’ International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., in advance of the Sunday Night Football matchup between the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens. Tirico was joined on the set by analysts Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, and Chris Simms, as well as NFL Insider Mike Florio.
Liam McHugh co-hosted Football Night in America from an outdoor set outside M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. He was joined by SNF analyst Cris Collinsworth, with Al Michaels and Michele Tafoya also reporting from inside the stadium. In addition, McHugh interviewed Ravens T Ronnie Stanley and former Ravens S and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ed Reed.
Mike Tirico interviewed Ravens QB Lamar Jackson for FNIA. An extended version of the interview can be found on NBC Sports’ YouTube channel here.
Football Morning in America’s Peter King traveled to Annapolis, Md., to chronicle Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s historic connection to the Naval Academy. Click here for the full piece.
FNIA also included highlights, analysis, and news from around the league.
Following are highlights from Football Night in America on NBC:
ON RAVENS
Collinsworth: “What they want to do is to play some power football. The unusual twist on the power football is that they have an extra blocker because their quarterback is the guy who is running the ball a lot.”
Collinsworth on defenders against Lamar Jackson’s running ability: “They go on the ground. They fall all over themselves. It looks like the Keystone Cops out there. He has been doing this, not just to one or two teams, but to every team they’ve played.”
ON PATRIOTS
Harrison on Patriots defense: “They have the best secondary in the league, and they have four corners that can start anywhere in the National Football League.”
Dungy: “They’re playing great, but I’m not ready to put them with the ’85 Bears just yet because they have scared a lot of young quarterbacks and a lot bad quarterbacks.”
ON PANTHERS
Simms on fake punt: “Riverboat Ron. He’s back.”
Florio on the status of QB Cam Newton: “He could end up on the Injured Reserved, he could end up playing again this year, and there’s still a chance he could end up never playing again for the Panthers. Everything is up in the air and no one, at this point, knows how it’s going to play out.”
Simms on D.J. Moore: “He is a special young receiver.”
ON TEXANS
Dungy on QB Deshaun Watson: “I thought Deshaun was the best player in the NFL today. He made play after play after play.”
ON CHIEFS
Harrison: “Great team win. You look at Matt Moore, he played like a starting quarterback. Defensively, led by Chris Jones, they were outstanding. And the run game was present.”
Tirico on Chiefs defense: “One thing all of you guys worry about with Kansas City long term is their defense. It was better today.”
Dungy on Chiefs defense: “Even with Mahomes back, if that defense didn’t improve, they’d have a tough time making the playoffs. But they did (improve). Chris Jones brought some energy. They did a good job on Dalvin Cook today.”
ON BILLS
Simms: “The (run) defense for Buffalo hasn’t been as good as we expect lately. But they’re still a player in the AFC. If Josh Allen can make plays like that and they can run the ball, they’re dangerous.”
ON STEELERS
Harrison on Minkah Fitzpatrick: “He’s the best playmaking safety they’ve had since Troy Polamalu.”
Simms: “It starts with their front seven on defense, Cam Heyward, Bud Dupree, T.J. Watt. They are a handful upfront.”
ON LIONS
Dungy on the game’s final play: “Where’s Marvin Jones, Kenny Golladay? Get your best players out there.”
ON BEARS
Harrison on defense: “They’re tired. They’re tired. You can just tell in their body language. They’re beat down.”
Tirico: “Everything that went well for them last year is not going well for them right now.”
Dungy: “Offensively, no rhythm…The defense was on the field the entire first half, and they couldn’t get them stopped in the second half.”
ON CHARGERS
Dungy: “We saw Aaron Rodgers last week, the perfect passer rating. Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, that front group got after them; they really shut them down.”
ON JETS & GIANTS
Tirico: “New York sports fans have seen terrible football all season. You get to have shared misery; it’s Jets-Giants next week.”