“This is a top five team in football right now.” – King on the Bills after their win over the Cowboys
“He’s the most elusive, hard to tackle, dangerous quarterback there is.” – King on Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
“I saw how I acted, and you’ve got to deal with the consequences of your actions…Now I move on. I try to be better from it.” – Patrick Mahomes to King on last week’s outburst
“From off the couch in Audubon, N.J. a month ago to the hero of the Browns’ very big last two weeks.” – King on Browns QB Joe Flacco
STAMFORD, Conn. – Dec. 18, 2023 – Peter King speaks with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes after Kansas City’s win over New England in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also discusses Jake Browning’s 3-0 run with Cincinnati, Lamar Jackson leading the Ravens to victory over the Jaguars, and more.
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The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:
CHIEFS
Mahomes to Peter King on growing following his actions in last week’s game vs. the Bills: “I saw how I acted, and you’ve got to deal with the consequences of your actions. I was taught that at a young age. Now I move on. I try to be better from it.”
Mahomes on the Chiefs’ inconsistent offensive season: “What I got from Blaine (Gabbert), who I think got it from Tom (Brady), is you got to find a way to win the ugly games. Because there are going to be ugly games.”
King on the Chiefs’ “Heisman” play: “You have to watch the replay four times before you get the full effect. What’s this weird Mahomes positioning? They’re not going to snap it to (Jerick) McKinnon, are they? They’re not going to pitch it to Mahomes, are they? That’s why it worked.
King on WR Kadarius Toney’s bobbled pass that led to an interception: “A ridiculous, careless miscue that instantly cut a comfortable 17-point lead to 10…and caused an angry Mahomes to look like he wanted to make (Kadarius) Toney walk back to Kansas City after the game.”
BENGALS
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor on QB Jake Browning: “If something goes negatively, he doesn’t let that bother him the next play. That comes from experience. He doesn’t overreact to good or bad things. Joe (Burrow) is the same way. We’re fortunate to have two guys that are built very similarly there, because it’s a vital part of becoming a good quarterback.”
Browning on what he’s learned from Burrow: “Joe’s ability to take everything that’s going on and really narrow down the focus of like, here’s my job, like, if whatever run play doesn’t work, whatever happens, he really is able to isolate. Here’s what I’m responsible for. Here’s what I need to do to get better.”
WEEK 15
King on the Jaguars’ slim chance of being the No. 1 seed in the AFC: “The AFC North has basically kayoed them from any chance of it, with Cincinnati, Cleveland and Baltimore handling them in the span of 14 days.”
King on the success of experienced college quarterbacks: “The one thing that sometimes gets lost in analyzing quarterbacks coming out of college is the experience factor. But there’s little doubt that 46 college starts in a Power 5 conference helped Brock Purdy adjust quickly to NFL life. Ditto Jake Browning and his 50 starts at Washington.”
King on the Lions’ offensive depth: “You know what’s impressive about Detroit’s offense? GM Brad Holmes has so loaded it with weapons that Kalif Raymond or Donovan Peoples-Jones will catch six for 120 one of these weeks and we won’t be surprised.”
King on the Bills’ recent success: “The Bills might not win the AFC East. But just imagine the AFC division winner that draws Buffalo in the first round of the playoffs. This is a top five team in football right now.”
Browns QB Joe Flacco’s agent, Joe Linta, to King after other teams inquired about signing him last week: “Joe didn’t want to hear it. He absolutely wanted to stay in Cleveland. He loves the team. He really gets along well with the coach.”
KING’S WEEK 15 AWARDS
Offensive Players of the Week: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore, Joe Flacco, Cleveland, Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay, Jared Goff, Detroit, Jake Browning, Cincinnati, Aidan O’Connell, Las Vegas, & Tee Higgins, Cincinnati
King on Browning: “Jake Browning is a revelation.”
King on Mayfield: “Here’s what’s so impressive right now about Baker: He’s on a new team after being set free by Cleveland, Carolina and the Rams, and he’s mastered a brand new receiver room.”
King on Jackson’s quarterback play: “If you watched Baltimore manhandle the Jags Sunday night, you watched peak Lamar. He must be on this list. He’s the most elusive, hard to tackle, dangerous quarterback there is.”
King on Flacco’s resurgence in Cleveland: “From off the couch in Audubon, N.J. a month ago to the hero of the Browns’ very big last two weeks. How possibly did no one before Cleveland in November even bring Flacco in for a workout to see if he had anything left. This just in: He does.”
Defensive Players of the Week: Bradley Chubb, Miami, Tanoh Kpassagnon, New Orleans, & Ifeatu Melifonwu, Detroit
King on Melifonwu: “Detroit needed a strong defensive game after a string of shaky ones, and Melifonwu led the way.”
Coach of the Week: Shane Steichen, head coach, Indianapolis
King on Steichen leading the Colts despite numerous injuries: “The Colts won a game with huge playoff implications Saturday without their number one QB, number one RB, and missing their backup running back and top wideout for much of the game. It’s clear Jim Irsay and Chris Ballard made the right choice in turning over the franchise to Steichen 11 months ago.”
Special Teams Players of the Week: Ka’imi Fairbairn, Houston, Connor Heyward, Pittsburgh, & D.J. Turner, Las Vegas
King on Houston kicker Fairbairn: “This is a rule of the column that I just invented: You kick a 54-yard field goal at the gun in overtime to keep your team in playoff contention when your starting quarterback is out with a concussion, and you’re a STPOTW.”
Goats of the Week: Los Angeles Chargers & Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh
King on Tomlin’s poor decision making in Pittsburgh’s loss to Indianapolis: “Instead of choosing to get (Chris) Boswell closer on third-and-14, the Steelers, in a big offensive hole, threw incomplete deep for George Pickens instead of just trying to get it closer to make it a one-score game. Bad day for the Steelers and their coach.”
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--
