“There’s no one in the gameplan that you’re scared of right now, and Mahomes has too much on his plate.” – Chris Simms on the Chiefs’ offense
“Campbell turned up the heat and he made the team rise to his standard.” – Devin McCourty on Lions head coach Dan Campbell bouncing back from Week 1 loss
“He instills belief in these guys…He understands what these guys do well, what they can handle, and when they can handle it.” – Jason Garrett on Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell’s success with quarterbacks
STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 14, 2025 – NBC Sports’ coverage of Week 2 of the 2025 NFL season continued tonight from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Falcons-Vikings on Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock.
Maria Taylor hosted FNIA from NBC Sports’ Studio 3 in Stamford, Conn. She was joined by former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, three-time Super Bowl Champion Devin McCourty, former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, NFL Insider Mike Florio, and fantasy sports industry pioneer Matthew Berry. Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy and two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison joined co-host Jac Collinsworth at the site of the game.
FNIA included Falcons head coach Raheem Morris speaking pregame with Tony Dungy, Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown’s post-game video call with Chris Simms, and more.
Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Melissa Stark (sideline reporter) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) are calling tonight’s game.
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Following are highlights from tonight’s Week 2 edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:
ON VIKINGS
Garrett on Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell’s success with quarterbacks: “He instills belief in these guys, but the other thing that he does that is really impressive is that he understands what these guys do well, what they can handle, and when they can handle it.”
Harrison on QB J.J. McCarthy: “His teammates and the coaches absolutely love him. They talk about his toughness, they talk about his attitude. It didn’t take them long to believe in him.”
Simms on McCarthy’s development: “Big arm, we know that. I’ve got to see more of a variety of throws…It’s just a fastball all the time. There’s no flick of the wrist, there’s no dropping it in the garbage can.”
McCourty on defensive coordinator Brian Flores facing Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr.: “(Flores) is fearless…It’s going to be just a Rolodex of calls. He’s going to bring out everything he’s ran probably in the last five years in the NFL and say, ‘How much has this young guy seen? We’re throwing it all at him.’”
Harrison on playing in Flores’ defense: “He learned so much from coach (Bill) Belichick, so obviously you have to be very versatile…but you also have to be smart knowing where everyone can be.”
ON FALCONS
Dungy on the Falcons’ belief in QB Michael Penix Jr.: “He’s smart, poised, accurate, and gets rid of the ball quick and reads defenses. They feel like they have a franchise quarterback for a long time.”
Harrison on the Falcons’ kicking situation after signing Parker Romo this week and keeping Younghoe Koo: “I would’ve made the move last year when (Younghoe Koo) missed nine field goals. (Head coach) Raheem Morris has to be careful about losing his locker room. You don’t want a kicker missing these kicks affecting your locker room…As a player, I want to know, who is my kicker? I don’t want to go in between two guys and then all of a sudden, I’m starting to look at my head coach sideways.”
Dungy on the kicking situation: “I only faced this one time. And what you have to do as a head coach is sit your kicker down and say, ‘You’re my guy.’ Look him in the eye and if you see that confidence, stay with him. But if you don’t, you’ve got to make a move and that’s what Raheem Morris did.”
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris to Dungy on the field pre-game on RB Bijan Robinson: “We can hand it to him, we can throw it to him. He’s got so many talents. He’s got everything, he’s the total package.”
Harrison on Robinson: “When he’s in open space, nobody can tackle this guy…get him the ball in open space, he’s going to make things happen.”
ON LIONS
Garrett on Detroit’s 52-21 win over Chicago: “(Lions head coach) Dan Campbell came in here and said, ‘This is a must win. (Bears head coach/former Lions offensive coordinator) Ben Johnson is my friend, but we’ve got to win this game.’ And they proceeded to run them right out of the building…They dominated in all facets of the game.”
Garrett: “I loved their mentality, not only in this game but all week long. It started with their head coach. It wasn’t a chip on their shoulder, it was a mountain…The great head coaches somehow create a sense of urgency each and every day in your preparation and certainly for three hours on Sunday.”
McCourty on Dan Campbell: “Campbell turned up the heat and he made the team rise to his standard. It showed today.”
Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in postgame video call with Simms: “We felt like this week was a must-win. We won so many games last year that losing in Week 1 felt so abnormal. It didn’t feel good for any of us so coming into this week. We were all laser focused. We wanted to go out and make a statement and I think we did that.”
ON CHIEFS
Simms on the Chiefs’ offense: “(Chiefs quarterback) Patrick Mahomes is the team’s leading rusher for the second week in a row. Yes, he’s making mistakes too, but there’s not a lot of help out there for him. They can’t control the line of scrimmage so they can’t run the football. There’s no one in the gameplan that you’re scared of on Kansas City right now, and Mahomes has too much on his plate.”
ON EAGLES
McCourty on the Eagles’ defense in win vs. the Chiefs: “It was better today. I wouldn’t give them an A+ or anything like that, I think this Chiefs offense is not that good…But you can see they’re very versatile.”
ON COWBOYS
Florio on K Brandon Aubrey’s range after speaking with him postgame: “He hit from 64 (yards). He told me he thinks his range is 70 or 71.”
ON STEELERS
Simms: “I don’t think Pittsburgh intended for Aaron Rodgers to have to carry the team. (They) have no defense, special teams isn’t very good, and they can’t run the ball. That was not the recipe for Aaron Rodgers.”
Garrett: “Think about Pittsburgh through the years: run the ball, play great defense. They need that if they want to have success with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. He can’t do it by himself.”
ON 49ERS
Garrett on QB Mac Jones and the 49ers: “He looked so comfortable playing there. (49ers head coach) Kyle Shanahan gave him a lot of good options throughout the game. He was settled, in rhythm, and played really well today.”
McCourty: “We’ve got to give credit to that San Francisco defense again…(49ers defensive coordinator) Robert Saleh is back with that defense and they are showing out.”
ON DOLHPINS
McCourty on the Dolphins’ communication at the end of the team’s loss vs. the Patriots after a players-only meeting following Week 1: “When you have a player’s-only meeting, you’re usually talking about the coaching staff. You may be addressing a few players, but you’re saying the things that you don’t like with the staff and I’m sure a few guys went back to (head coach Mike) McDaniel and said, ‘These are the things we need to work on.’ We can’t in the very next week, walk away – the most high-pressure situation, when we need it the most – and say we messed up the little things, the communication. Things are not good in Miami right now.”
ON BENGALS
Florio on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s injury: “After the game, coach Zac Taylor was very tight-lipped about Burrow’s status going forward. He was seen after the game in a walking boot and a crutch. It’s a ligament issue and the question is, what do they do moving forward? I’m being told that at least as of now, surgery isn’t off the table but we’re going to have to keep an eye on that.”
ON JAGUARS
Garrett on analytics and the Jaguars going for it on fourth-and-five late in the fourth quarter while leading by three: “I just don’t agree with it at all…The thing that bothers me these days is head coaches hide behind the idea of analytics…You have to use your gut, you have to use your instinct, you have to watch the game that’s being played and the people that are playing it. They should’ve kicked the field goal.”
ON BILLS
Simms on RB James Cook: “This is why they paid this guy. He’s one of the few guys on this football team that can score from any place, anytime, anywhere.”
--FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA--
