Mike Tomlin, Cris Collinsworth, Jason Garrett, Devin McCourty
Nov. 11, 2026
THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for joining us today on our midseason NFL conference call as we head into a stretch of three blockbuster games on NBC and Peacock. This Sunday it’s the Steelers and the Bengals in a matchup for first place in the AFC North. Both teams are 6-2, which is the best combined winning percentage for a Cincinnati-Pittsburgh matchup this late in the season since 2009.
Next week, Sunday, November 22nd, we present our first-ever international NFL regular season game, the Minnesota Vikings against the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City.
And then on Thanksgiving night, it’s the continuation of the “Rivalry of the Decade”, as the Chiefs visit the Buffalo Bills. The teams have met ten times since 2020; each has won five games and six have been decided by one score. It also will be the first NFL game in Buffalo on Thanksgiving.
Joining us today on our conference call are our NFL analysts. First we have Devin McCourty, who faced the Bengals six times as a player with his team winning four of those games.
We have Jason Garrett, who didn’t throw any passes as a quarterback in Cincinnati, but was 1-0 there as a Cowboys head coach.
Next is Mike Tomlin, the newest member of our NBC Sports NFL team, who joined after 19 seasons as head coach in Pittsburgh, all with a record of .500 or better. Mike ranks 9th in regular-season wins in NFL history, and he has more wins than any visiting coach at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati with 14.
And finally, we have Cris Collinsworth, who starred as a receiver for eight years with the Bengals, ranking first on the team’s all-time receiving list when he retired, with 51 of those catches coming against the Steelers.
CRIS COLLINSWORTH: As a former Bengals player, I can remember every one of those losses that Devin and Mike laid on us in Cincinnati. Didn’t appreciate a single one of them. This rivalry means something special.
Sometimes rivalries are special in different ways, but I think that the Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers have always been a little bit of a classic matchup. Maybe more so this year than ever before.
When you think of Pittsburgh, you think of defense, you think of running the football. That’s certainly what this Pittsburgh Steelers team does really well right now.
When you think of the Bengals, you think of the quarterback and the wide receivers that have just been putting on a historic show here over the last month.
So, you take the quality of what they’re doing with the defense since about midseason -- clearly, Pittsburgh made some changes, and they are back and very dynamic. I’m just watching some of that right now, and then you look at what the Bengals have done on the offensive side, and it is just as explosive as you’ve ever seen. It should be a great, great matchup.
And then the other games, obviously San Francisco-Minnesota just got a little dose of excitement added to that one. And Kansas City and Buffalo, that one speaks for itself.
MIKE TOMLIN: AFC North football this weekend is two trains on the track, as I used to say when I was coaching the Steelers. Really excited about this matchup. It doesn’t happen as much as you would think. In the last four or five years, Burrow missed the ’23 and ’25 editions of this matchup in this venue.
I think it’s going to be obviously highly contested. Great passing versus great pass-rushing coverage. I think those are going to be the significant components of the game with respect to guys like Jaylen Warren, who’s obviously playing well, or [Dexter] Lawrence, who’s dominant. I think he had two sacks last time they played each other.
I think this game comes down to Cincinnati’s pass attack versus Pittsburgh’s rush from a defensive perspective. We’re talking about two elite units, two really good teams, and that’s why I referred to it as two trains on the track. There’s a lot at stake.
For football lovers, it’s certainly going to be a big game.
JASON GARRETT: I feel like an outsider following those two guys. These guys are both legends in this rivalry, and they know it better than anybody.
From my perspective, and they touched on it, what Cincinnati’s doing right now in their passing game, I just think is remarkable. I’m always amazed at the level of competition in the National Football League, and just how good these players and coaches are. Then you see some guys who are better.
What Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins, and Ja’Marr Chase are doing right now, it’s like these guys are on another level. We’ve been laughing about it. They’ve spent a lot of time working on their celebrations after they score a touchdown but put it in the context of playing in Madrid, Spain, and that just tells you their mentality.
If you watch that game from last week, it’s an absolute clinic reel with the quarterback and receiver play. What’s fun for us as football fans is now they’re playing Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh, since they drafted Joe Greene in 1969, they have been dominant on that side of the ball, and nobody knows that better than Mike, with the defenses that he had for all those years.
I think the defense has gotten better and better and better as these weeks have gone on, and they’re playing at such a high level right now. Patrick Graham is doing a great job with those guys.
That guy T.J. Watt up front, he’s such a game wrecker and has been for so long. To me, that’s the one matchup I’m most excited to see. Can that Pittsburgh defense disrupt this offense that’s been playing at such a high, high level? Again, if you’re a football fan, you don’t want to miss this one. It’s going to be an awfully fun night for all of us.
DEVIN MCCOURTY: Obviously, I spent a lot of time playing against these two teams, but it was always a treat once you understand the matchup, whether it was Pittsburgh leading the division and they had to go on the road. As a player, we were sitting there waiting to see if we could get the one-seed, and sometimes they were playing Cincinnati and they weren’t that good, and Cincinnati would beat Pittsburgh.
It’s one of those rivalries that records don’t matter, even though both teams have good records this time. They’re going in there and they want blood.
I’m probably most excited to see, as we’ve been traveling with Mike T., if he actually gets booed this week, if people hate him, if they throw something at him. I’m excited to see what happens in Cincinnati. I think this matchup, everyone said it, I think Pat Graham, the defensive coordinator, you’ve got to come up with some stuff that affects and impacts Joe Burrow.
I know he already said he’s seen everything, and that’s what you’re supposed to say, but you’re hoping they have a few things that he’s never seen that can create a turnover or two. I know, when I played against them, that was the key. How can we try to throw a defense out there that we’ve never ran? Can we practice it throughout this week and go out there and get it done?
For me, it’s all about Pittsburgh’s offense. When they’ve been able to score, their defense has been good enough to limit other teams. If they can get some points on the board, I think that’s when they’ve been at their best. So how does Aaron Rodgers engineer this offense and move the ball to create some plays just to keep Cincinnati honest and not to put everything on that pass rush and this defense.
So very excited to be at this game and get to see this matchup.
Q. Hi, guys. I know you have the Bears fresh on your mind, so I figured I would ask. For Coach Tomlin, what do you think Caleb Williams needs to do in the second half of the season to position the Bears for the Super Bowl? And also, for Cris, what do you make of the roster and what the Bears have now and its level of being able to compete with the other teams in a really tough NFC?
MIKE TOMLIN: The answer to the first part of your question regarding Caleb [Williams], I think he just needs to continue what he’s been doing. Certainly, it wasn’t his night the other night versus Tampa, but if you did look at the larger picture and trend once he’s come back from injury, Chicago is scoring over 30 points a game and he’s playing with great confidence. I think he is still confident in those that he plays with.
So, I just think it’s upward and onward. Certainly, I think when you acquire a guy like Jeffery Simmons, even though he’s on the other side of the ball, I think it raises the tide for all parties involved. So, I like the trajectory of that group.
Certainly, they didn’t have a great game the other night, but I just think it’s something that gets their attention from a prep standpoint as they move forward with further competition.
CRIS COLLINSWORTH: I have a tough time deciding if I’m more impressed with the Bears because Caleb Williams threw the four interceptions and they had five turnovers and they won, or am I worried about Caleb Williams because he had a bad night?
I tell you, we were knee-deep in that facility and asking everybody as deep of questions as we could about Caleb Williams, and every answer that came back was about the unbelievable the amount of time and effort and preparation he puts in. I look back at that game, sometimes I wonder, did he have -- the first 20 minutes of that game, I don’t know I’ve ever seen a quarterback play like that. He could have thrown it over his head backwards and was going to get a completion of some kind.
But I thought it got him right back into some of the bad habits that hurt him in his rookie year, such as fading away and throwing it up, because he actually hit a couple of those like that. I think you’ll see him, not the coaching staff, tighten himself back up, get back on his game.
When you ask me about this roster, I’m a little hard-pressed to name a roster I like a whole lot better than this one. The one question I had about them was the cornerback position. It was great to see Jalen Johnson make that play. He struggled a little bit, in part because they were having to play so much man coverage, but now they don’t because they have Jeffery Simmons and now they’re going to have additional help on the back end. [Tyrique] Stevenson will play better, and I like Malik Muhammad back there. Tyler Gordon came back, as did T.J. Edwards.
This is a legit team. I do think Caleb will reel it back in a little bit. I really like them. I really like them.
Q. Mike, what’s it going to be like for you to be inside the stadium for the first time watching your former team?
MIKE TOMLIN: I look forward to it because of the relationship, but you know me, I’m capable of compartmentalizing and getting hyperfocused on the job. But it certainly will be fun to see some guys I’ve got relationships with. There will certainly be a lot of those. But they have a job to do, I have a job to do. So, I’m sure everyone is going to be focused on the task at hand.
Q. Coach Tomlin, how do you think it’s been going for you in this new broadcasting role? Are you enjoying it? What will your approach and response be when inevitably NFL teams come to you with NFL head coaching opportunities or maybe have already come to you about the upcoming head coaching cycle?
MIKE TOMLIN: I’ve been enjoying the challenge of the new work. I’ve got a great team, having a lot of fun with my coworkers. It’s awesome to be as close to the game as I am and observe the game from a global perspective.
I think, when you’re coaching, you block out a lot of these peripheral things. It’s fun. I really enjoy absorbing it from a football lover’s perspective. So, I’m thoroughly enjoying it.
But it’s also fun to be challenged. I’m something of a novice, obviously, and so I’ve just been hyperfocused on getting better each and every week in terms of delivering information and delivering it in an educational and entertaining way. So, I’m having a lot of fun.
I haven’t given one iota of thought about coaching. I’m sure that some of that’s going to come up in the not-too-distant future, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Really hadn’t thought a lot about it. Really excited about my new role and working to get better each and every week.
Q. Just a question for the panel, with all the talk about [Joe] Burrow and the run he’s on, have you guys ever seen Burrow play better, and is there a kind of a quarterback and receivers with the run that Burrow, [Ja’Marr] Chase, and [Tee] Higgins are going on that maybe you can compare what they’re doing now?
DEVIN MCCOURTY: I would say I’m not surprised at all. I played against Joe [Burrow] one time, and I think back to that week, we had a younger defense. And as we put on some things, call it a Wednesday, when we came back on Thursday, we had a lot of guys complaining ‘Oh, this is too much’.
I remember I stood up in front of the whole defense and told the defense, if we don’t do this, we’ll lose by at least three touchdowns because of how good this guy is at the quarterback position’.
It reminded me a lot of the guys, when I first got into the league, each week, whether it was training camp against Tom [Brady], Peyton Manning, whether it was Drew Brees, those guys knew everything that you were going to do before you even moved, they were kind of telling guys ‘Hey, you need to move outside leverage’. I’ve seen this on film a bunch of times.
I think of him that way. I even think back to my second year, I think we played Pittsburgh, Emmanuel Sanders, Antonio Brown, and Mike Wallace, and that was a track meet, chasing those three dudes with [Ben] Roethlisberger throwing the ball as far as he could. I remember being exhausted at the end of the game.
And I still just think those guys are a whole level above when you talk about two kinds of 1A receivers out there with a quarterback that’s playing at his level. It’s so hard to defend.
That’s what we see week in and week out. It’s hard to stop all of these guys.
JASON GARRETT: When you look at the reel when you watch these guys -- and Joe [Burrow] in particular -- I resist making comparisons to guys. Cris [Collinsworth] can probably speak to this better than I can, but one of the great comparisons you make for a quarterback is to compare a guy to Joe Montana.
I feel like in some ways it’s reminiscent of that. He’s so technically fundamentally sound playing the position. He’s so smart. He’s so calm, cool, and collected. His pocket movement is, like, rare. If you’re a young quarterback and you want to play this position, just put his reel on. It’s incredible how he moves to the pocket, keeps his eyes up, keeps the ball protected, and consistently delivers the ball to his receivers.
Obviously, the guys outside are rare. They’re an amazing combination, probably the second and third best receivers in Bengals history.
I just think watching these guys, as you mentioned, it’s the best they’ve ever played. They’ve been good for a long time, but this run that they’ve been on is something else.
As someone who loves that position - playing it, coaching it, and just studying it - he’s just playing at such a high level that I think you can make legitimate comparisons to the best guys who played the game.
Now, he’s got to keep doing it over time. He’s got to win championships and do all that, but he’s playing the position at a really high level.
Q. A Mexico City question for Mike Tomlin, Devin and Jason. Mike, I believe that the Steelers are one of the most popular teams in Mexico. I’m wondering whether that’s something that you noticed or impressed by during your tenure. Then for Jason and Devin, just your recollections of playing in Mexico City, particularly the crowd and the sophistication of the fan base there.
MIKE TOMLIN: I’m certainly aware of the following that the Steelers have in Mexico, but we never played there during my tenure. I never really got a chance to feel it, but certainly just from the media coverage and so forth - just in fantasy camps and things of that nature. So, I’m certainly aware of the relationship.
DEVIN MCCOURTY: We had a blast being down there in 2017, I think it felt like more of a Raiders feel, but I just think playing on the Patriots and the stretch that we had with the guys before me and then the run that we were able to go on, it felt like we always had fans when we got to playing in these international games.
It was awesome. I just think the energy in the stadium, no matter if you’re a Patriots fan or a Raiders fan or just a football fan, the excitement around it. The crowd was into it. It was loud. The game wasn’t particularly close. I think that sometimes changes games, but you couldn’t tell. It was just so much energy and excitement in the stadium that we really enjoyed being able to do that.
We did that after playing Denver and staying in Colorado, so it was a great pick-me-up to go out there and play and then head back home.
JASON GARRETT: I had a couple of great experiences down in Mexico. We played in Mexico City one year as a preseason game in the ‘90s. We also played in Monterrey one year. Just the hospitality of the people was incredible, the energy and enthusiasm. I think there were 110,000 people there.
A couple of memories: you could complete an 80-yard bomb where a guy makes this incredible catch over three defenders for a touchdown, and that got an incredible roar, but when you kicked an extra point or punted the ball, the crowd went wild. They’re used to the kicking part of the game.
But they were amazing. It was such an electric environment for all of us.
One quick story. One of the years we went down there, it was a star-studded group that we had. We had Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin and all these future Hall of Famers, Deion Sanders. Right before we went down there, we signed a receiver named Marco Martos, who at the time was regarded as one of the best football players to ever come out of Mexico.
He was with us in training camp, and we went down there. Troy [Aikman] and Emmitt [Smith] and Deion [Sanders] and those guys, they all made cameo appearances in this preseason game. There was a tremendous roar for them, but when Marco Martos came into the game with five minutes to go, 110,000 were on their feet going nuts for their native son. It was great moment for all of us to see that. So very vivid memories, amazing experiences.
Q. Mike, the Jaguars were obviously active on Monday with three additions. Specifically, what can Jessie Bates and Jordan Davis bring to this defense?
MIKE TOMLIN: Jessie Bates is an absolute ball hawk, a center fielder, a hub of communication. He’s going to improve the play of those around him significantly. He’s going to reduce big plays. I think when you’ve got a good defense and you minimize big plays and you make offenses operate, they generally don’t score. His presence will be significant.
In a similar way, Jordan Davis requires four hands. And if you don’t put four hands on him, he’s got a chance to wreck the run game in a big way. He’s got a chance to be significant in terms of minimizing the run. So I think they help themselves in two really distinct ways from a defensive perspective.
So it’s a sign that they’re all in on it. It’s really impressive. It’s going to be fun to watch those contributions, and I think they will be immediate.
Q. Mike, we asked you at the beginning of the season a lot of questions about John Harbaugh. What have you seen from him with the Giants so far? He’s obviously rejuvenated the organization. Do you think that they’ve rejuvenated him a little bit too?
MIKE TOMLIN: I don’t know that John was ever lacking in intensity or energy, but I’ve certainly seen what he’s infused into that collective. It’s displayed not only in their play, but there was an image the other week of their sideline and how everyone was engaged. There were guys running with the runner along the sideline.
I just think that speaks to what he’s done for them in terms of making them appreciate the urgency required to win and win consistently.
When I look at them, I see a really urgent group. We don’t give that enough of analysis in terms of how it impacts games. Teams that play hard, teams that are urgent, teams that are willing to fight -- I just think that those are some of the things that I’ve seen John consistently instill in the teams that he leads, and I see it in New York.
Q. Mike, I know you talked about this a little bit on the podcast with Cam Heyward that came out earlier this week, but you were so good pushing the buttons of guys when you were in the building as head coach, and it sounds like you’re still doing that with guys like Cam and T.J. I’m just curious, how much fun do you have still kind of pressing those buttons and motivating them from afar? Is there anyone else in the Steelers locker room that you still have that relationship with?
MIKE TOMLIN: Those relationships that you mentioned are beyond professional relationships. Those are personal relationships, and so we just interact the way that we normally interact, obviously not as much because they’re busy, as am I.
But certainly it’s a fun component of our relationship, particularly with those two. They don’t get enough of that in their life. 99 percent of the people in their life I’m sure just tells them how great they are, and I just enjoy being that guy for them.
Q. Is there anything, when you watch the Cowboys, that you would say this is reflective of coaching, and specifically -- these are my words -- that you don’t believe this is a well-coached team right now?
JASON GARRETT: For me, I always think it’s a combination. I think you can probably look at some situations they’ve had this year for you as a coach to pull back and say, “We could have handled that differently. Maybe we weren’t quite as prepared as we needed to be for that.”
Then you come back the next week, “Hey, we’ve got to hone in. If that comes up again, we’ve got to get it addressed.”
And another part of that is there are times the players have the same situation: “Hey, I’ve got to make that throw, that tackle, that catch, whatever that thing is.”
But the players have to take responsibility. The best teams I’ve been around as a player and a coach, everyone kind of looks inward first, and you look at yourself as a coach and say, boy, that plan wasn’t what we needed it to be, or we need to handle that situation better, and the players are doing the same kind of thing.
The Cowboys, to me, it’s been up and down, it’s been rocky, but they’re in a division that is still winnable at this point. The Giants have been very impressive. The Cowboys, to me, still have the best offensive skill in the division. They have the best quarterback in the division. And their defense is not what they’ve wanted it to be, but they’ve shown some signs where they’ve made some stops at critical moments, particularly last week at the end of the Colts game.
So I think, like with every team in the league, there’s a lot of blame to be spread around, but the ultimate question is what are you going to do now? Let yourself make the corrections and go forward. And again, there’s a lot of reason to hope and believe they can stay in the fight in the NFC East. That’s really what the focus needs to be.
MIKE TOMLIN: I would actually agree with what Jason said. I think any time there’s failure and inconsistency, it’s always playing and coaching issues. That’s been my experience.
But I also look at it from the perspective of it’s like being a head coach and a quarterback. Oftentimes you get too much credit when things are going well and too much blame when things aren’t. I just think that I know there’s a certain amount of tension that comes with being the Cowboys, sometimes justly so, sometimes unjustly so.
I’m sure Coach Schottenheimer and all parties involved are conditioned and used to that. They’re insulating themselves from it. I’m sure they’re all focused on what they need to do to improve and find consistency, rather than addressing the noise, which is probably always louder outside than it is inside.
Q. This question is for Mike. Mike, you mentioned this new role and all the challenges that come along with it. What excites you most about getting to witness this Sunday’s AFC North matchup in this role from this perspective?
MIKE TOMLIN: I just enjoy watching and analyzing good football. What we’re going to get Sunday night is absolutely good football. It’s two teams with the same agenda running into each other, and obviously one particular unit on a historic run in their venue on primetime.
If you love football -- and certainly I love football -- where else would you rather be?
Q. Fernando Mendoza will start for the first time this week, and his first two starts are scheduled to come against the Seahawks’ and Broncos’ defenses. For Mike, if you were game planning against him, how would you most try to exploit his inexperience? And for Jason or Cris, if you were Klint Kubiak, what would you most want to emphasize and what areas would you most be interested in seeing his progress in?
MIKE TOMLIN: I think, if I’m coaching the dark side, it’s not about him. It’s about them doing what it is that they do. I’m sure that’s probably their mentality.
So I think they’re probably preparing to play their game and let their personalities show and do what it is that they do and impact the game in the ways that they desire to, and they’re not going to be talking a whole lot about him.
JASON GARRETT: I think the big thing with Coach Kubiak him is what you try to do every week, you try to get your quarterback into the game. You try to take the burden off of him. Over the course of the game, he’s got to make plays, but get him settled into the game. It will be his first start. These are elite defenses. They’re the best in league at pressuring and attacking the quarterback.
So break the game down for him. Try to get the running game going. High-percentage throws early. Move the quarterback. Try to get him to be five for five before he even thinks about it to get into the flow of the game. Those aren’t easy things to do, but that has to be your objective.
Once he gets his legs underneath him and he’s got a good look in his eye, then you start trying to attack the defense a little bit more. If you try to go after these guys too early and you get a lot of negativity happening for the quarterback in the first start of his career, it can be tough sledding and feel like an uphill battle for the whole game.
Get him settled. It’s okay to punt early, but take the burden off of him and get him comfortable in the game, and you can go from there.
Q. This question is for Mike Tomlin. Mike, a couple years ago, you referred to the trade deadline as an arms race. We certainly saw a couple teams treat it just like that, like the Jaguars and the Bears, for example. I’m curious, from your perspective, do you feel like in the current landscape teams need to be engaged in that arms race to keep pace, or can teams like the Steelers that chose to stand pat still be considered legitimate contenders?
MIKE TOMLIN: I think every team has an individual journey, and I think they make decisions accordingly. There are different things that push you in the direction of player acquisition. It might be attrition that has occurred during the course of the season, or it might be an area of weakness that you can identify an inconsistent performance that needs to be addressed, and if you have an opportunity to address it and solidify your group, you do.
I think those are the factors, and every team is different. Certainly there’s some challenges when you acquire players in terms of how the collective communicates and plays together, depending on the position of the person that you acquire, and how they mesh in terms of the locker room or the culture.
There’s some things to consider. There’s some things that produce movement. There’s some things that maybe push teams to sit pat. But I think those are individual discussions and decisions per team based on their journey. So I’ve learned to never really judge those that are active, and probably more importantly, I’ve learned to not judge those that aren’t.
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