“What he did wrong is he’s not Deshaun Watson and he’s not Patrick Mahomes. I think everybody holds that against him.” – Tony Dungy on Mitchell Trubisky
“You have to get back to doing what’s comfortable for Tom Brady. It’s not about Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich.” – Rodney Harrison on the Buccaneers offense
“The Patriots mystique strikes once again. They’re not out of it.” – Chris Simms
“Holiday season is basically Derrick Henry season. He heats up in November and December.” – Ahmed Fareed
STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 29, 2020 – NBC Sports’ presentation of Week 12 of the 2020 NFL season began tonight from Lambeau Field with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Bears-Packers on Sunday Night Football on NBC.
Ahmed Fareed hosted FNIA from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn., and was joined by two-time Super Bowl-winner Rodney Harrison and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms. NFL Insider Mike Florio joined Football Night remotely from his home studio. Jac Collinsworth co-hosted the show from Lambeau Field and was joined by Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Dungy, who was on site to call Sunday Night Football.
In addition, former Bears QB Jim McMahon narrated a piece about the history of Bears-Packers and Collinsworth interviewed Packers WR Davante Adams pre-game.
Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Dungy (analyst), Kathryn Tappen (sideline reporter) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) are calling tonight’s Bears-Packers game.
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Following are highlights from tonight’s edition of Football Night in America on NBC:
ON BEARS
Dungy: “In order to win, the Bears need to run the football and believe it or not, Mitch Trubisky is going to help them run the ball. His mobility and the things he can do off play action are going to help those running backs.”
Dungy on Trubisky: “What he did wrong is he’s not Deshaun Watson and he’s not Patrick Mahomes. I think everybody holds that against him.”
Simms on Bears offense: “It’s not a quarterback problem. We wanted to blame Mitchell Trubisky – yes, he’s been underwhelming as a Top Five pick – but they brought in Nick Foles and the offense was still not good under his leadership…I think Trubisky’s legs and his running ability might be effective tonight.”
Harrison on Bears defense: “If I’m one of the leaders on the defense – Khalil Mack, Eddie Jackson – I’m going to my defense and saying, ‘We need to create two turnovers to give us an opportunity to win.’ Then I’m going to Mitchell Trubisky and I’m saying, ‘Do what you do, just don’t turn the ball over. Don’t mess it up and we can have a chance to win.’”
ON PACKERS
Simms on WR Davante Adams and Packers offense: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. They will wear it out. If you’re going to sit there and play one-on-one with Davante Adams, you better have some sort of plan to stop Aaron Rodgers getting the ball in this guy’s hands…they will play, ‘Our guy is better than your guy.’…they force you to have a plan to stop Davante Adams.
Harrison: “In order for them to get to the Super Bowl, it won’t be through (Aaron Rodgers). They have to redirect the offense back to Aaron Jones because he creates so many mismatches and he’s so dangerous, whether it’s receiving out of the backfield or going between the holes. You look at Alvin Kamara, you look at Christian McCaffrey, they give defenses fits because of how many things they can do.”
Simms: “If they want to get to the Super Bowl, they need another element besides Rodgers and Adams. They need that Aaron Jones presence we saw last year that helped them get to the NFC Championship Game.”
ON CHIEFS
Harrison on WR Tyreek Hill: “How do you cover him one-on-one?”
Fareed: “Well, they didn’t.”
Simms: “They got it done as usual in Kansas City…all of the ways they used (Tyreek Hill) today were so impressive.”
ON BUCCANEERS
Harrison: “Why is (defensive coordinator) Todd Bowles playing man-to-man coverage with Tyreek Hill and no safety help? ... I know he might be trying to challenge his guys, but you’ve got to put them in a situation to be successful. I don’t know one cornerback in the NFL that can guard this guy one-on-one…you’ve got to make adjustments.”
Harrison: “When I look at Bruce Arians, he has to understand that this is not about Bruce Arians. You have to do what is comfortable for Tom Brady. Tom Brady is comfortable running the football, play action pass, occasional trick play, quick passes out of the backfield – you have to get back to doing what’s comfortable for Tom Brady. It’s not about Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich.”
ON BILLS
Simms: “You can be happy and say, ‘We didn’t have to rely on our passing game to win a game.’ Their defense showed up. It’s been better as of late and I think it can help them if they want to win a few games in the playoffs.”
Harrison: “Josh Allen can’t throw for 300 yards every single week. It was good to see them commit to running the football because you don’t want to be one-dimensional going into the playoffs.”
Simms: “And Josh Allen will make the plays, we know that. But it’s good to see them with a different type of style.”
ON PATRIOTS
Harrison on the Patriots: “I was really impressed by Bill Belichick and his game plan. Don’t forget about those Patriots. It was an old-school game plan. Special teams, defense did a great job and held Kyler Murray to just 31 yards rushing.”
Simms: “The Patriots mystique strikes once again. They’re not out of it…Can’t count them out yet.”
Harrison: “There was a sense of urgency when they were playing defense. They were flying around, they’re communicating, they’re making plays. That’s the Patriots defense that we’re used to seeing.”
Fareed: “Every week we’re just about to write off the Patriots, but you can’t do it.”
Simms: “Never. Never die.”
ON 49ERS
Simms on 49ers-Rams: “The 49ers have got their number. The Shanahan-McVay rivalry is real.”
ON RAMS
Simms on DL Aaron Donald: “He’s insane. It’s every week. He’s the best defensive player in football.”
ON SAINTS
Simms: “Rodney thinks the Saints are the best defense in football and it’s hard to argue that over the last few weeks.”
ON BRONCOS
Florio on why NFL didn’t postpone Saints-Broncos until Monday when some QBs could have played: “Strategic reasons are never going to prompt a postponement of a game. It’s only when there is an outbreak that has not yet been contained as is happening in Baltimore.”
ON RAIDERS
Harrison: “Do you think the Raiders have been reading the papers?”
Simms: “I do. ‘Yeah, you guys were great. You’re almost as good as Kansas City.’ No. ‘Negative, Ghost Rider’ as we saw today…this offensive line is the strength of the Raiders team…they did not come to play. They couldn’t protect Derek Carr.”
Harrison: “The thing that was most disappointing to me was the effort level. You shake your head…we saw them do things that we haven’t seen them do, turning the ball over…they just need to get back to playing humble football.”
Simms: “They were asleep at the wheel. Derek Carr made mistakes we haven’t seen him make all year long.”
ON TITANS
Dungy on RB Derrick Henry: “Two words – dump truck. It was Derrick Henry. Three starters missing from the Colts’ front seven including their best run-stopper, DeForest Buckner, and the Titans had no mercy. They just unleashed Derrick Henry over and over again. He pounded them inside and outside.”
Collinsworth: “Does head coach Mike Vrabel get enough credit for what he’s building in Nashville?”
Dungy replying to Collinsworth: “I don’t think he does. He’s done a tremendous job changing their attitude and changing their culture. He’s built a physical team, a team of no excuses, and I love watching them play.”
Simms on WR A.J. Brown: “A.J. Brown is quietly becoming one of the best receivers in the NFL.”
Simms on RB Derrick Henry: “It’s just amazing – how big he is, the speed and the change of direction for that size, and nobody wants to tackle him. I wouldn’t sign up for tackling him, I know that.”
Fareed on Henry: “Holiday season is basically Derrick Henry season. He heats up in November and December.”
Harrison on WR Corey Davis: “This is the guy that I’m really excited about. I think he can be a No. 1 receiver, just give him some more opportunities.”
ON BROWNS
Simms on Browns’ decision to go for it on fourth down late in the game: “Why? Can we kick a field goal and go up by two scores? … I know everybody wants to be aggressive, but I would have liked to have seen a field goal here.”
Harrison: “Try to win the football game. That’s the most important thing.”
ON WASHINGTON
Harrison on Washington as his pick to win the NFC East: “I like the experienced quarterback with Alex Smith, they have a tough, hungry defense and they can run the football.”
Simms: “I was leaning Dallas before Thanksgiving, but I’m going with (Washington), too -- Ron Rivera has been to a Super Bowl, Alex Smith, one of the better defenses in football, and one of the top pass-rushing defensive line units in football.”
ON GIANTS
Simms on Giants: “They rely on Daniel Jones’ legs to run and make plays for this offense…when he went out, the Giants’ defense really stepped up and helped them win this game…they’re playing good football.”
Harrison: “This Giants defense flies around…you’ve got to forget about the record, you look at the Giants defense, these guys play hard, they play physical and they play together. Joe Judge is doing a great job.”
ON FALCONS
Dungy on Falcons defense: “The Atlanta Falcons shut Josh Jacobs down. It was an incredible story. That was the biggest surprise of the day to me.”
ON JETS
Simms: “The Dolphins were controlling the football game, but let the Jets hang around…but, the Jets are the Jets and they’ll find a way.”
–FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA–
