Minnesota Vikings Visit Chicago Bears In First Place Battle On NBC's Sunday Night Football
By: Tori Hartshorn Nov. 14, 2018
Mitchell Trubisky and the first-place Chicago Bears (6-3) host Kirk Cousins and the second-place Minnesota VIKINGS (5-3-1) in a battle for the NFC North top spot on NBC's Sunday Night Football. Coverage begins with FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA at 7 p.m. ET on NBC, followed by SNF kickoff time of 8:20 p.m. ET, from Soldier Field in Chicago.
This weekend's game marks the first time since 2012 the Bears will host NBC's Sunday Night Football. The winner of Sunday's game will hold first-place in the NFC North.
Calling Vikings-Bears is Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his record 33rd season as THE VOICE of the NFL's premier primetime package; 16-time Emmy Award-winnerCris Collinsworth; and two-time Emmy Award-winning sideline reporterMichele Tafoya. This marks the 10th season that Michaels and Collinsworth will serve as the announce team in the NBC broadcast booth. In addition, three-time SUPER BOWL referee and SNF's rules analyst Terry McAulay will join Michaels and Collinsworth in the booth.
Trubisky had his first career win over a divisional opponent last Sunday against the Lions, with 355 passing yards and three touchdowns in the 34-22 victory. The Bears have won three straight. Linebacker Khalil Mack, who the Bears acquired via a preseason trade with the Oakland Raiders, has seven sacks in seven games.
The VIKINGS return to action following a bye and a Week 9 win over the Lions, 24-9, which featured a franchise-high 10 sacks. Cousins ranks fourth in the NFC in passing yards (2,685), while Adam Thielen is tied for first in receptions in the NFL (78) and is on pace to set the single-season franchise record.
Mike Tirico will host FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA at 7 p.m. ET on NBC alongside Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy, two-time SUPER BOWL winner Rodney Harrison, and NFL insider Mike Florio from NBC Sports' International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn. Liam McHugh will co-host FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA on-site from Soldier Field.
NBC's coverage of SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL is led by executive producer Fred Gaudelli and director Drew Esocoff.
NBCSPORTS.COM & NBC SPORTS APP TO LIVE STREAM ALL NBC NFL GAMES:
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream all NBC games to desktops, tablets, mobile devices and connected TVs via "TV Everywhere,"giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. This marks the first season that NBC Sports is able to live stream to mobile devices and on Playstation 4. The full HD-quality video stream will come directly from NBC's broadcasts. Powered by Playmaker Media, the NBC Sports app is available on Apple iOS, Android and select Samsung devices, as well as on Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Win10, Playstation and Xbox.
PETER KING'S NFL COLUMN "FOOTBALL MORNING IN AMERICA" DEBUTS EVERY MONDAY EXCLUSIVELY ON NBCSPORTS.COM
A new "Football Morning in America" will post every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com. It was announced in May that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com, making regular appearances on NBCSN's and NBC Sports Radio's PFT Live with Florio, and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.
PFT LIVE - WEEKDAYS AT 7 A.M. ET ON NBCSN
Mike Florio and co-host Chris Simms bring fans the latest NFL news and interviews with players and coaches every weekday morning with PFT Live on NBCSN at 7 a.m. ET. Peter King will also contribute regularly to PFT Live's coverage throughout the regular season. In addition, on the mornings after games where rulings are a hot topic, McAulay will join PRO FOOTBALL TALK on NBC Sports Radio and NBCSN.
The two-hour PFT Live provides all-encompassing coverage of the NFL, including the most current news and analysis, thought-provoking debates, and interviews with a wide variety of NFL newsmakers. The program is a simulcast of NBC Sports Radio's PFT Live national program that airs daily beginning at 6 a.m. ET.
SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SOCIAL MEDIA
- SNF ON INSTAGRAM: Going into its seventh season, SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL gives the SNF fan a look at photos through the filters of Instagram. Fans get a look around each SNF city, as well as access inside the production trucks, the locker rooms, on the field, and on the sideline, as our social media producer captures the best photos of Sunday night and posts in real time. Each week, SNF on Instagram will host Instagram Live interviews with Michele Tafoya and players from each team. In addition, SNF on Instagram will utilize Instagram stories to maximize fans' exposure to the SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL footprint.
- SNF ON TWITTER: Using tweets, photos, and videos, @SNFonNBC provides unique content with SNF talent, production crew and NFL players. Additionally, Tafoya will provide real-time tweets from the sideline to provide followers with updates all game long.
- SNF ON SNAPCHAT: For the second season, NBC Sports' Snapchat account will be creating content on the platform at each SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL game, including Kickoff and from the SNF Bus. The NBC Sports Snapchat account will take fans behind the scenes to the FNIA set and around cities where SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL comes to town, utilizing lenses and filters to customize content specifically for the Snapchat audience.
- SNF ON FACEBOOK: - At nearly 3.7 million likes strong, the SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Facebook page provides social-first stories, photos and video every week.
SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BUS RETURNS FOR 2018 NFL SEASON
NBC Sports Group's SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL bus returns this season to travel the country, visiting the host cities of select SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL games. The bus will bring the Vince Lombardi Trophy to various SNF locations, before arriving at its final destination in Week 17.
Fans will get a closer look at the behind-the-scenes action of SNF broadcasts on the bus, which will take fans from the field, to the studio and in the production trucks. Features of the bus include an interactive replica of the control room, an interactive player wall, a Carrie Underwood music experience, a replica of theFootball Night in America desk, an area showcasing SNF's new initiative with the Boys & Girls Clubs and more.
The bus will arrive in each city two to three days prior to the game, making stops at local landmarks and events before heading to the game site. Once at the stadium, the SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL bus will give fans the opportunity to interact with America's most-watched primetime television show with exclusive activities, memorabilia and a 55-inch monitor housing social media elements.
NBC SPORTS RADIO
NBC Sports Radio will surround the 2018 NFL season with daily coverage across more than 425 radio affiliates, highlighted by PFT Live, featuring NFL insider and FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA commentator Mike Florio daily from 6-9 a.m. ET; the PFT PM podcast hosted by Florio, which takes a look back at the day that was in the NFL; Safety Blitz with Rodney Harrison and Dan Schwartzman; featuring three-time All Pro and two-time Super Bowl-winner Rodney Harrison; and more.
To listen to a live stream of NBC Sports Radio, or find your local affiliate, visitwww.NBCSportsRadio.com
NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS
NBC Sports Regional Networks, which serve top NFL markets such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco, will surround the 2018 NFL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the teams that matter most in more than 40 million U.S. households.
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL IS PRIMETIME'S #1 SHOW, UP 8% FROM LAST SEASON;FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA UP 5%
Through Week 10 of the NFL season, NBC Sunday Night Football, primetime TV's #1 show for a history-making seven consecutive years, once again tops primetime television and is averaging a Total Audience Delivery of 19.8 million viewers - up 8% from last year at this point (18.3 million) and pacing for SNF's best season since the record-setting 2015, based on live plus same day data provided by Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics. Prior to 2011, a sports series had never been primetime television's top show for a full season.
Football Night in America, the most-watched weekly studio show in sports since its 2006 debut, is averaging 7.3 million viewers from 7:30-8:15 p.m. ET - up 5% from the comparable time window in 2017.
| 2018 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE | ||
| *Sun. Nov. 18 | Week 11 | Minnesota VIKINGS at Chicago Bears |
| **Thurs. Nov. 22 | Week 12 | Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints |
| *Sun. Nov. 25 | Week 12 | Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings |
| *Sun. Dec. 2 | Week 13 | San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks |
| *Sun. Dec. 9 | Week 14 | Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders |
| *Sun. Dec. 16 | Week 15 | Philadelphia Eagles at Los Angeles Rams |
| *Sun. Dec. 23 | Week 16 | Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle Seahawks |
| *Sun. Dec. 30 | Week 17 | TBD |
*Flex Week
** Thanksgiving Night Game
FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING: Flexible scheduling will be used in Weeks 11-17. Additionally, in Weeks 5-10, flexible scheduling may be used in no more than two weeks. In Weeks 5-16, the schedule lists the games tentatively set for SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL on NBC. Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game would be moved to an afternoon start time. Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday or Monday nights.
A flexible scheduling move would be announced at least 12 days before the game. For Week 17, the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to December 30. The schedule does not list a Sunday night game in Week 17, but an afternoon game with playoff implications will be moved to that time slot. Flexible scheduling ensures quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks and gives "surprise" teams a chance to play their way into prime time.
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