“He’s revolutionary when it comes to throwing the football. In his prime, he had the strongest arm maybe in the history of football.” – Chris Simms on Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers
“When you play against him, he just steals your soul. You play perfect coverage and then the ball drops in half an inch from your fingernail. That’s why he’s every good quarterback’s favorite quarterback.” – McCourty on Rodgers
“It’s the hottest offense in the sport.” – Simms on the 7-1 Colts
STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 26, 2025 – NBC Sports’ coverage of Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season continued tonight from Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa., with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Packers-Steelers on Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock.
Tonight’s FNIA was on-site in Pittsburgh and featured host Maria Taylor, 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, with Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison, and co-host Jac Collinsworth.
FNIA included Harrison’s conversation with Packers running back Josh Jacobs, a feature on Packers fans discussing Rodgers’ departure from Green Bay, an opening tease narrated by Oscar-nominated actor, Pittsburgh native, and star of the upcoming film Wicked: For Good Jeff Goldblum, Dungy’s on-field interview with Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, 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 8 edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:
ON STEELERS
Simms on Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers: “He’s revolutionary when it comes to throwing the football. In his prime, he had the strongest arm maybe in the history of football. His quick release was up there with (Pro Football Hall of Famer) Dan Marino. He changed how quarterbacks throw the ball. We all know quarterbacks traditionally throw over the top.”
McCourty on his experience playing against Rodgers: “When you play against him, he just steals your soul. You play perfect coverage and you’re right there, and then the ball drops in half an inch from your fingernail. And then when there’s no one to throw to, you turn around as a DB and he’s running! That’s why he’s every good quarterback’s favorite quarterback.”
Dungy: “The craziest thing about Aaron Rodgers is (Steelers head coach) Mike Tomlin told me before the game, ‘I’ve been in this league 25 years, but once a week, (he’ll) make a throw in practice where I’ll still say, wow, can you believe that?’”
Garrett on Rodgers’ mentality heading into this game: “He made it abundantly clear that this is not a revenge game…He wants to retire as a Packer, and I think that’s going to help him emotionally during this game. Nobody sees and feels the game like Aaron Rodgers.”
McCourty on the Packers’ defense going against Rodgers: “Those guys going against him, I remember being in this situation playing Tom Brady for the first time. I went to (Patriots offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels and said, ‘Can we have a conversation? Tell me all the things Brady hated. When you sat down and you game plan against a defense, what are the things you talked about?’ I think those Packers defenders had to go to (Matt) LaFleur and say, ‘Coach, give us some inside information.’”
Harrison on Rodgers’ effect on the Steelers: “I had a chance to talk to (Steelers tight end) Pat Freiermuth and he was ecstatic about Aaron Rodgers. He talked about his leadership, the connection that he has in the locker room, and holding guys accountable.”
Dungy: “I talked to (Steelers head coach) Mike Tomlin who says that he’s brought an energy, competitiveness, and more than anything, leadership to that offense.”
Dungy on the Steelers’ biggest weakness: “It’s the defense right now. I’m a formers Steelers defender and I’m not liking what I’m seeing. As a matter of fact, when I called (Tomlin) this morning, he was in the office watching tapes of his defense. He said he’s got to turn them loose and get more out of them.”
ON PACKERS
Harrison on the Packers’ outlook: “If they commit to running the football and staying patient, this team could be a contender. Their offensive line is not as dominant as it has been in the past, and if it’s me coaching, I’m giving Josh Jacobs 20 touches a game.”
Garrett on Jordan Love: “I absolutely love this guy, no pun intended. The start to his career is comparable to some of the best to ever do it. The arm talent is obviously there, but I love his decision-making. On all three levels, he’s attacking the defense. He’s getting the ball to other receivers. If there’s one thing that I would really try to work on with him, it’s sometimes he’s throwing off his back foot and jumping away when he doesn’t have to. When he’s under pressure, he can make those throws, but when he’s not, stand in there and rip it a little.”
Packers RB Josh Jacobs to Harrison on the Steelers’ defense: “You see a good group of veteran guys playing at a high level for a long time. (They are a) very physical team, a good defensive front. We’re going to have our work cut out for us.”
McCourty on Packers LB Micah Parsons: “The biggest thing with Parsons is you got to do a great job of frustrating him, triple-teaming him at times…Force him to be involved in the run game.”
ON CHARGERS
Harrison on being inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame as a player this week: “I got to give props to the Chargers organization. I know we’ve had our ups and downs, but they really set it up for me. It was just a tremendous event and I’m very grateful.”
Dungy: “And I got to say, there aren’t many people who are in two teams’ Hall of Fames but not the (Pro Football) Hall of Fame, so that’s the next stop.”
ON RAVENS
McCourty on the Ravens’ win over the Bears with backup QB Tyler Huntley: “We saw that this team is resilient. You go through all of that, still no Lamar Jackson…they said, ‘Our job is to go out and win a football game,’ and that’s what they did.”
Florio on the Ravens’ situation with Lamar Jackson’s practice status this week: “If you’re a starter, and you don’t take all of the first team reps, even if you fully participated, and what Lamar Jackson did was participate on the scout team, you were ‘limited.’ The Ravens knew this. They got it wrong. He should’ve been listed as ‘limited,’ but he was listed as ‘fully participating’ in practice.”
Florio on potential punishments for the Ravens: “For now, the Ravens are looking at fines, a potential loss of draft picks, and even suspensions are on the table based on what the NFL could find out…It’s an opportunity for the league to make a very strong statement on a very important topic.”
ON TEXANS
Simms on the Texans’ win over the 49ers: “This Texans defense is in the conversation for best in football.”
ON COLTS
Simms on the Colts’ win over the Titans: “It’s the hottest offense in the sport. You can’t stop Daniel Jones. You can’t stop Jonathan Taylor.”
ON BRONCOS
McCourty on the Broncos’ win over the Cowboys: “The way they played offensively, with the defense, that’s a hard team to beat. When you look at the defense, they blitz. (Cowboys QB) Dak (Prescott) was under a lot of pressure. That’s how Denver wants to play football.”
ON BROWNS
McCourty on Browns DE Myles Garrett: “112 sacks before the age of 30. The only thing is, can we get Myles Garrett some wins and not just sacks?”
--FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA--
