“Minnesota is the most underappreciated 14-win team in the NFL. They just win every week and the Sam Darnold story is off the charts.” – Jason Garrett on the 14-2 Vikings
“Big-time plays from the Giants’ offense all over the field. I haven’t said that all year.” – Chris Simms on the Giants scoring 45 points in third win of the season
Peacock Sunday Night Football Final Streams Exclusively on Peacock Following Falcons-Commanders and Every Sunday Night Football Game During 2024 Season
STAMFORD, Conn. – December 29, 2024 – NBC Sports’ presentation of Week 17 of the 2024 NFL season continued tonight from Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., with Football Night in America leading into coverage of Falcons-Commanders 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. Steve Kornacki was also in the studio to break down playoff scenarios. 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.
Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Melissa Stark (sideline reporter) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) are calling tonight’s game.
Tonight’s pre-game coverage included:
- A tribute to Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States who passed away at the age of 100;
- A tribute to Greg Gumbel, who passed away this week at the age of 78 and hosted NBC’s NFL studio coverage in the mid 90’s, including pre- and post-game host for two Super Bowls;
- Falcons head coach Raheem Morris making an impromptu visit to Dungy, Harrison, and Jac Collinsworth on the on-field FNIA set;
- Maria Taylor’s FaceTime interviews with Eagles RB Saquon Barkley and NFL single-season rushing record holder and Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, as Barkley surpassed 2,000 yards today and needs just 101 yards to break Dickerson’s mark;
- and interviews with Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. and Commanders QB Jayden Daniels.
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Following are highlights from tonight’s edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:
ON GREG GUMBEL
Taylor on the late Greg Gumbel, who passed away Friday at the age of 78: “While Greg is best known for his extensive and groundbreaking work at CBS, many in our NBC Sports family remember his time here in the mid ‘90s very warmly. Greg’s iconic voice was a part of so many of sports’ biggest events. Here on NBC, he hosted the pre-game and Lombardi Trophy ceremony for two Super Bowls while also calling baseball and the NBA on NBC. Greg also hosted coverage for three Olympics, including daytime coverage of the 1996 Atlanta Games. He was a gifted storyteller and one of the most respected broadcasters in the industry for five decades, one whose legacy will endure.”
ON FALCONS
Harrison on rookie QB Michael Penix Jr., set to make his second career NFL start: “The word that describes him is ‘calm.’ Last week against the Giants, they showed him six-man pressures and all kinds of different blitzes – guys were flying around his legs – and he’s just sitting in the pocket releasing the ball with no panic whatsoever.”
Taylor on Falcons rookie QB Michael Penix Jr.: “I talked to the coaching staff while I was in Atlanta and they said that Michael Penix Jr. is better than advertised and super intelligent. They protected him in that first game, they haven’t even unleashed and shown everything that he is capable of yet.”
Dungy on how the Falcons are preparing to face Commanders QB Jayden Daniels: “The last time we had Atlanta [Week 3 on Sunday Night Football] they were playing Kansas City and Michael Penix simulated Patrick Mahomes [in practice]. Penix is the starter now, so the Falcons signed a practice squad quarterback, Emory Jones, just to simulate Jayden Daniels.”
Garrett on Penix Jr.: “I absolutely loved the guy coming out of school. He has the trait that all the great passers have. He sees the game, feels the game, and when there’s people around him, he stands in there and rips it. But the biggest takeaway for me is the poise and the calm. A lot of rookie quarterbacks look like a chicken with their head cut off…He did not look like a rookie quarterback.”
ON COMMANDERS
Dungy on Commanders’ resurgence under head coach Dan Quinn and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels: “You usually talk about the coach changing the culture of a team, and Dan Quinn has certainly done that, but to a man, these Commanders’ players have talked about Jayden Daniels and what he has brought to the table. He has taken them from hopeless to hope – and now, to belief.”
Simms on Daniels: “The vibes are high in that facility because of that guy. They all believe in him. He’s very aware of all of the talk around him but he’s so nonchalant and relaxed about all of it. He just seems unbothered by anything.”
ON VIKINGS
McCourty on the Vikings’ win over the Packers: “Minnesota has really dominated the game. Sam Darnold throwing the ball over the middle to all his receivers, and that Brian Flores-led defense, when they get up and play from ahead, you get everything from them…Minnesota looking comfortable right now.”
Garrett: “The marriage of Kevin O’Connell and Sam Darnold is really working for the Vikings.”
Simms on Vikings’ offense: “O’Connell can make deep crossers, in-cuts, middle posts, he makes them come open more than any coach in football…the play-calling is all really impressive in Minnesota. Sam Darnold looks as comfortable as ever and he’s taken advantage of all of it.”
Garrett: “Minnesota is the most underappreciated 14-win team in the NFL. They just win every week and the Darnold story is off the charts for me. I just love how Kevin O’Connell can resurrect a guy like this. But don’t short-change Darnold. It’s not just system play, he makes a lot of spontaneous plays and like we’ve said, they love playing for him.”
ON EAGLES
Garrett on the Eagles’ win over the Cowboys: “An absolute bludgeoning over the Cowboys. No Jalen Hurts, but no problem...They hand the ball to [Saquon Barkley] 31 times…[They] may be the most complete team in the National Football League.”
Dickerson to Taylor on hoping Barkley doesn’t break his rushing record: “It’s common sense (laughing). People say, ‘Records are meant to be broken.’ Well, you don’t have a record. That’s what it comes down to.”
Barkley to Taylor in their post-game FaceTime interview: “I get it. I wouldn’t want my records to be broken...I’m just a little kid living a dream to even have those conversations and be mentioned in that.”
Garrett on whether Barkley should play Week 18 with the No. 2 seed locked up: “The first thing you do is you don’t make it all about the record. If you decide as a head coach and say, ‘What’s best for our team to go win a Super Bowl is for you to play next week,’ then you play. If Saquon Barkley gets the record as a byproduct, that’s all fine and good, but you don’t play him to get the record – you have bigger aspirations.”
McCourty: “There were times in New England where we had everything wrapped up heading into that last game and maybe we played a half, maybe we played the whole game – it all mattered how Coach [Bill] Belichick felt about the team and what we needed to be ready for the playoffs.”
ON BENGALS
McCourty on why teams should not want to play the Bengals in the postseason: “Joe. Burrow. Yes, all the receivers - Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins. But think about what Steve [Kornacki] just said [about playoff scenarios]. Five-game winning streak going into the playoffs. Nobody wants to play those type of teams.”
Garrett: “Cincinnati’s still not playing very well on defense, but that quarterback’s playing as well as he’s ever played, and the receiving corps is hard to stop.”
Simms: “You’ve got to be prepared to play for a shootout if you’re going to play the Bengals right now, and you’ve got to take advantage of their weak defense. That means a fun-scoring AFC Wild Card Game if they’re in it.”
ON GIANTS
Simms on WR Malik Nabers in 45-33 win: “The Colts couldn’t cover him, they couldn’t tackle him...big time plays from the Giants’ offense all over the field. I haven’t said that all year.”
Simms on Giants QB Drew Lock’s five total touchdowns in the win over the Colts: “You can’t stop Drew Lock! Not on this day. We don’t let up for anyone, we’re the New York Giants!”
ON BUCCANEERS
Florio on what Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield said to him about Payne Durham’s first career touchdown catch: “I talked to Baker Mayfield about that touchdown catch that got thrown into the stands, which he aimed to get back to [tight end] Payne Durham. A few years ago, Tom Brady had to give a Bucs fan a whole Bitcoin valued, at the time, at about $63,000 to get back his 600th touchdown pass. Baker Mayfield said, ‘It won’t cost quite that much, but whatever it is, Durham’s the one who has to pay for it.’”
ON MVP RACE
Garrett: “Look at these numbers [for Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson] ... Both these guys are having the best years of their careers. But my MVP in the year of the running back is Saquon Barkley. Ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards. Give it to No. 26 in Philly.”
ON PLAYOFF PICTURE
Kornacki on race for the final spot in the AFC playoffs: “Three teams are going for that final spot and Denver sits in it...if the Broncos win next week against Kansas City, they’re in and that’s it. But if they lose, look how wide open the door would be for the Dolphins. They would then just need to beat the Jets and it would be the Dolphins making the playoffs. From the Bengals standpoint, they need Miami to lose next week on top of Denver, and if both of those things happen, no small order, Cincinnati just has to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh. If they do all of those things, the Bengals would end the season on a five-game winning streak, would sneak into the playoffs and would go to Buffalo against a Bills team that would probably rather play someone else.”
Kornacki on how the Rams can win the NFC West: “What’s holding them up at 99.9% is that they could lose to the Seahawks next week, tie atop the standings in the division, and then to break that tie, you’d have to go all the way to the fifth tiebreaker, which is strength of victory, the combined record of each team you’ve beaten this season…the Rams could [clinch the division] tonight with a Washington win or tie.”
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Peacock Sunday Night Football Final, an NFL post-game show produced by NBC Sports, streams exclusively on Peacock following every Sunday Night Football game during the 2024 season. The show is hosted from the game site by Jac Collinsworth, Harrison, and Dungy, who will provide instant reactions to each Sunday game along with highlights and interviews.
-- Football Night in America --
