“He’s been the toughest guy in the NFL. He lost half his offensive line. Nobody’s been tougher.” – Rodney Harrison on Chargers QB Justin Herbert
“The 49ers are special. They’re battle tested and Kyle Shanahan is one of the greatest offensive minds we’ve seen in football in a while. Unbelievable victory for them today.” – Chris Simms
“Who would’ve thought (Herbert) is going against a second-year guy who has just skipped past every other level and has an MVP-caliber season in Drake Maye. Should be an incredible matchup.” – Devin McCourty on Herbert facing Patriots QB Drake Maye
STAMFORD, Conn. – January 11, 2026 – NBC Sports’ Football Night in America began its coverage of NFL Wild Card Weekend leading into tonight’s Chargers-Patriots game on NBC, Peacock, and Universo from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
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, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, and co-host Jac Collinsworth joined on-site at Gillette Stadium.
FNIA included a look at tonight’s Chargers-Patriots matchup, recapped today’s Wild Card Weekend games, Harrison’s on-field interview with Patriots tight end Hunter Henry, and Dungy’s on-field interview with Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen. In addition, a feature on “The Lost Generation, highlighted Patriots fans teaching Generation Alpha about the Patriots’ winning history.
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 Wild Card Weekend edition of Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock:
ON CHARGERS
Garrett on Chargers QB Justin Herbert: “We all challenged him to take the next step and be a willful quarterback like (Patrick) Mahomes and (Tom) Brady and he’s done it all year long. He lost both of his tackles but he’s gotten this team to this place. He’s put the city of Los Angeles on his shoulders.”
Simms on Herbert’s improved play this season: “This year, when the play breaks down he’s gone to another level in scrambling and still making something happen without pass protection, whether it’s running or buying time to make the big-time throw.”
Simms on Herbert and Maye: “If you want to play quarterback in the modern-day NFL, you got to make some backyard plays, and these two are real good at it.”
Dungy on what he would tell Herbert before this game: “Same thing I told Peyton (Manning). ‘You’re an outstanding quarterback. Don’t listen to the noise. Do what you do. You might have to make some plays with your legs tonight, but just be Justin Herbert and we’re going to be fine.’”
Harrison on Herbert: “Whether they win or lose, my opinion of Justin Herbert won’t change. He’s been the toughest guy in the NFL. He lost half his offensive line. Nobody’s been tougher.”
ON PATRIOTS
McCourty on Patriots QB Drake Maye: “Who would’ve thought (Justin Herbert) is going against a second-year guy who has just skipped past every other level and has an MVP-caliber season in Drake Maye. Should be an incredible matchup.”
McCourty on what former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick would say about crunch time: “I remember in New England, first practice of the year, we would say, ‘This is how the game’s going to end. Ball inside the 10-yard line, you gotta score to end a drive or as a defense you have to get a stop. Bill (Belichick) would say, ‘You can play great football for 58 minutes and sometimes just the last two minutes matter.’”
Harrison on the Patriots’ offense: “If you’re Drake Maye, you don’t have to do everything yourself. Rely on your weapons. The Chargers like to sit back and play a lot of zone. Get the ball to Stefon Diggs. He is a zone killer. But also Rhamondre Stevenson – yes, he’s good in between the tackles but you take him out of the backfield, you can use him as a pass catcher as a wide receiver.”
Dungy on Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel’s message to his team: “I was at the Patriots facility this morning with some of their players and they’re telling me, ‘Don’t change the mac and cheese. Coach Vrabel told us that if your mom makes great mac and cheese, don’t change the recipe just because it’s Thanksgiving. We’re going to do what we do.’”
ON 49ERS
Simms on San Francisco’s final drive: “The 49ers are special. They’re battle tested and Kyle Shanahan is one of the greatest offensive minds we’ve seen in football in a while. Unbelievable victory for them today.”
Garrett on Brock Purdy in the 49ers’ win over the Eagles: “The mental toughness of (Purdy) in this game was incredible. He turned the ball over in some big moments and made all the plays in the final drive.”
Garrett on the 49ers overcoming injuries: “Such a big part of playoff football and the teams that keep going are the teams that constantly pick each other up. I don’t know that there’s a better example all year long. We talk about overcoming injuries. One of their best players, George Kittle, goes down today. They don’t even blink. They just keep going. Pretty remarkable.”
ON EAGLES
McCourty: “Under two minutes, we saw another quarterback step up… But the Eagles – we complain all year, ‘It’s too basic, it’s too basic.’ On 4th-and-11, we need your best play. All they did was say to the four guys out there, ‘Just run straight down the field.’ The 49ers… banged up and a bunch of guys just thrown in there together, they’re all over that play. Just too basic and now who knows what the city of Philadelphia is going to do.”
ON COACHING VACANIES
Florio: “(John Harbaugh) has said he’ll narrow his targets down to three or four teams…Don’t rule out the possibility of him sitting out this year and then he would be top-of-the-list guy who hovers over all of the 2026 season. There’s one other potential vacancy in addition to the eight already out there – the Green Bay Packers job could come open. Matt LaFleur has been there seven years, and he has one year left on his contract. It’s believed he is either going to get an extension or going to move on. He told reporters he’d meet with team president Ed Policy tomorrow to discuss the situation.”
--FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA--
