“I do love Burrow, man. He’s a competitor. But I can’t have him smoking cigars in the locker room at Arrowhead, at our stadium.” – Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes to King on Bengals QB Joe Burrow
“Cincinnati-Kansas City. It’s now the best rivalry in the game. Burrow-Mahomes. It’s now the best quarterback rivalry in the game.” – King
“This Philadelphia team has fewer weaknesses than the one that beat (Tom) Brady and (Bill) Belichick (in Super Bowl LII).” – King comparing the current Eagles to the Super Bowl-winning 2017 Eagles
“Not hard to argue that KC isn’t headed to the Super Bowl without him.” – King on Chiefs DT Chris Jones
STAMFORD, Conn. – Jan. 30, 2023 – Peter King speaks to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also recaps the Conference Championship Games, including Mahomes and the Chiefs’ win over Joe Burrow and the Bengals, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ victory over the 49ers, and more.
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In the leadup to Super Bowl LVII, NBC Sports will surround the game with live, on-site coverage from Arizona next week across Peacock and NBC Sports’ digital properties.
The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:
BENGALS-CHIEFS
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes to Peter King on the third-down pass in the third quarter that caused him to limp: “On that play, I knew once I was getting chased it was gonna hurt regardless…I think you saw a couple times in the game where I tried to run and I didn’t really go anywhere. So I rolled out to the left, they brought pressure off the right, and I saw Mecole (Hardman) open. I stepped on that leg, kinda twisted through it and I immediately felt that little shock. It’s just one of those things that you, you know, you feel it. But at the end of the day, man, I’m not coming out of that game unless they carry me out.”
Mahomes to King on his third quarter touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling: “I tried to just fire it to Marquez. It’s one of those when you throw it and you hold your breath, honestly. You’re like, man, just get through there somehow.”
Mahomes to King on Bengals QB Joe Burrow: “I do love Burrow, man. He’s a competitor. But I can’t have him smoking cigars in the locker room at Arrowhead, at our stadium.”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid to King on facing his former team, the Eagles, in the Super Bowl: “It’s gonna be a great clash. Great. I love it. It’s crazy. It’s pretty crazy. It’s real crazy, in fact. I left there on good terms. I still got a good relationship with those people. I appreciate every bit of those 14 years.”
Chiefs VP of Sports Medicine and Performance Rick Burkholder to King on Mahomes’ toughness playing through his ankle injury: “He’s incredible. It’s like there was never any question he’d play this week, and his injury was significant. The amazing thing to me: He did not miss one snap of practice all week.”
Reid to King: “That’s the crazy thing — for him to push through every play in practice, it’s just nuts. And then, he wanted to do the nakeds. He wanted to move to his left and just try it — see how it felt. We called it to the right, which would be easier for him. That’s how we had it on the script. But then he ran it to his left. He did one of those tonight. You saw it.”
Mahomes to King on playing through his ankle injury: “The coaches, everybody kinda coming up, media, everybody asking about it all week. I was just like, ‘Listen — I’m playing, so it doesn’t matter how I’m doing.’”
Mahomes to King on how his ankle will feel post-game: “It’s gonna be sore tomorrow for sure. But we’ll go right back to the treatment…I’ll have a little bit more time to rest this week so hopefully we can be a little closer to 100 percent for the Super Bowl.”
Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo on not getting any head coaching interviews: “Nothing I can do. But like I told my wife last night, if nothing happens, that’s fine. We’ll hang around Joe (Burrow) another year. There’s worse places to be.”
King on the new Bengals-Chiefs rivalry: “Cincinnati-Kansas City. It’s now the best rivalry in the game. Burrow-Mahomes. It’s now the best quarterback rivalry in the game.”
49ERS-EAGLES
King on the Eagles: “These Eagles are deep and dangerous, and it will take the best game of their season by the Kansas City Chiefs to beat them in Super Bowl LVII in 13 days.”
King on Eagles LB Haason Reddick: “After finishing second in the NFL with 16 sacks in the regular season and first with five forced fumbles, he was the most important defensive player on the field Sunday…Huge producer when it’s counted for Philadelphia.”
King on comparing the current Eagles to the 2017 Super Bowl champion Eagles: “Amazing to think this, after the Eagles won their first Super Bowl five years ago with an explosive performance against the best team of the era, New England. But this Philadelphia team has fewer weaknesses than the one that beat (Tom) Brady and (Bill) Belichick.”
King on the 49ers’ tough showing against the Eagles: “(49ers rookie QB Brock) Purdy re-entered a 21-7 game, but with an apparent elbow injury preventing him from being able to throw, this game became an exercise in just-get-it-over-with, not a true contest of the two best teams in the NFC.”
King on a QB rule change: “I think the most obvious takeaway from the NFC Championship Game, re an easy offseason rules change, is to reinstate the ability for teams to dress a third quarterback who will only be eligible to play if the first two quarterbacks are injured.”
King on the 49ers’ QB future: “I think if I’m (49ers head coach) Kyle Shanahan, I tell Brock Purdy and Trey Lance they’re going to training camp as 1a (Purdy) and 1b (Lance), and it’s not impossible for Lance to unseat Purdy, but life goes on, and Purdy’s eight wins down the stretch of this season can’t be discounted.”
KING’S CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS
Offensive Player of the Week: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City
King on Mahomes: “Dealing with a high ankle sprain and missing multiple receivers, Mahomes did what he’s done over and over again in his remarkable NFL career: He excelled, innovated and propelled Kansas City to the win.”
Defensive Players of the Week: Haason Reddick, Philadelphia, & Chris Jones, Kansas City
King on Jones: “Jones was a powerhouse all night, a difference-maker in a close game. Not hard to argue that KC isn’t headed to the Super Bowl without him.”
Coach of the Week: Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia
Special Teams Player of the Week: Harrison Butker, Kansas City
King on Butker’s game-winning field goal: “His 45-yard field goal, fighting through the Arrowhead Stadium wind, made it by four or five yards and dropped on the ground with three seconds left, giving Kansas City a 23-20 win over the Bengals. Kick of his career.”
Goat of the Week: Joseph Ossai, Cincinnati
NEWS & NOTES
King on 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans’ head coaching future: “Three people involved in coaching searches told me over the weekend that San Francisco defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans —the former Texans Pro Bowl linebacker — is the leader in the clubhouse for the Houston job.”
King on the Panthers hiring Frank Reich over interim head coach Steve Wilks as their new head coach: “The owner, David Tepper, wants a guy who can develop a long-term quarterback and give the franchise stability. (Steve) Wilks could have done one of those. Fair or unfair, almost no matter what Wilks did, I always thought this owner wanted a quarterback-whisperer as his next head coach. I expect Wilks getting passed over will be part of legal proceedings against the NFL for the continued bypassing of minority candidates in favor of white ones.”
King on the Colts potentially hiring Jeff Saturday as their next head coach: “If the Colts somehow hire Jeff Saturday (1-7 as interim coach, including blowing a 33-point lead at Minnesota), who I’m told is absolutely in play for the full-time head coaching job, that will ignite a powder keg in the minority-coaching wars. Rightfully so.”
King on the Patriots hiring Bill O’Brien as their new offensive coordinator: “I think I join the football-nerd world in praising Bill O’Brien as the pick to be Mac Jones’ new offensive coordinator with the Patriots…(Jones) will not continue the regression under O’Brien, who is demanding and mechanics-specific.”
Read the full FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.
The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage:
- PFT Live with NBC Sports’ Mike Florio (Mondays) and Florio and Chris Simms (Tuesday-Thursday) streams on Peacock from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET on weekdays & is available on-demand. The Dan Patrick Show streams at 9 a.m. ET, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry at Noon ET, Brother From Another at 3 p.m. ET, PFT PM at 5 p.m. ET. At 6 p.m. ET, Chris Simms Unbuttoned streams Tuesday-Friday.
- ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest news and updates.
- NBC Sports EDGE’s Rotoworld Football Show continues the NFL discussion and Bet The Edge Podcast provides daily betting insights.
- The NFL on NBC YouTube channel offers daily football content for free, with exclusive videos from Peter King – including his interviews with players and coaches at training camps – Mike Florio, Chris Simms, and more. To access all of these videos and more, click here to subscribe
A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.
--NBC SPORTS--
