POSTED: Wednesday September 23rd 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUPER BOWL MVP QUARTERBACKS CLASH AS MANNING LEADS THE COLTS AGAINST WARNER AND THE CARDINALS ON “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL”

“A great pitchers duel.” – NBC's Collinsworth on Warner vs. Manning

       “These are two playoff-ready teams.” - Dungy




       NEW YORK – Sept. 23, 2009 – The defending NFC champion
Arizona Cardinals, led by QB Kurt Warner, make their first ever
appearance on “NBC Sunday Night Football” as they host Peyton Manning
and the Indianapolis Colts in a battle of two of the NFL’s most potent
offenses.  Coverage begins with “Football Night in America,” Sunday at
7 p.m. ET with Bob Costas hosting live from inside the stadium.  Al
Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst) and Andrea Kremer
(sideline reporter) call the action from University of Phoenix Stadium
in Glendale, Ariz.



Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann will co-host FNIA from NBC’s 30
Rockefeller Plaza studios joined by Super Bowl-winning coach Tony
Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison and Sports
Illustrated’s Peter King. “Football Night’s” Tiki Barber will report
from the Dolphins-Chargers game in San Diego.



COLLINSWORTH ON THE MATCHUP: “A great pitchers duel. For my money it’s
worth the price of admission to see either Manning or Warner – but
both! This is a good early test for the Cardinals to see if they’re for
real.”



DUNGY ON THE MATCHUP: “This is an explosive matchup and both
quarterbacks know they’ll have to keep putting points on the board.
These are two playoff ready teams.”



DUNGY ON CARDINALS AND IF THEY ARE FOR REAL: “They had a lot of
doubters after week one but they showed me a lot last week. I don’t
think last year was a fluke. They are a very explosive team and Kurt
Warner is too much of a leader. I think they are for real and they will
be in the mix at the end.”



DUNGY ON COLTS: “Jim Caldwell has put his stamp on this team,
particularly on defense. This is a veteran group that is mentally
tough.”



COLTS VS. CARINALS: The Colts and Cardinals have met only 13 previous
times dating back to 1961 when they were the Baltimore Colts and the
St. Louis Cardinals respectively.  The Colts hold a 7-6 in the series
and have wins in three straight matchups including a 17-13 win in their
last meeting in 2005.



COLTS-CARDINALS IN PRIMETIME: This is the Cardinals first ever
appearance on “NBC Sunday Night Football” and their first time on the
NFL’s premier primetime package (SNF 2006-Present, MNF 1970-2005) since
1999.  This is the first of two Cardinals games on SNF this season.
 They will travel to the Meadowlands in Week 7 to take on the Giants.
 The Colts are making their first of three 2009 appearances on “Sunday
Night Football.” They travel to Tennessee to take on the Titans in an
AFC South battle in Week 5 and host Tom Brady and the Patriots in Week
10. They are now 7-3 overall since the NFL’s premier primetime package
moved to NBC in 2006 and their 11 SNF appearances ties them with the
Cowboys for the most for any team.



NBC SPORTS OFF TO RECORD START WITH NFL: Last Sunday night’s
Giants-Cowboys game drew 24.8 million viewers, the most ever for a
“Sunday Night Football” game surpassing last year’s Giants-Cowboys game
(23.1 million on Dec. 14, 2008) and the best delivery for any primetime
regular-season NFL game in 12 years (Broncos-49ers, 27.0 million on
Dec. 15, 1997).



The “Sunday Night Football” season-to-date average of 22.3 million
viewers is the best start to a season in SNF history and the best
two-week NFL primetime start dating back to 1996 (23.1 million on ABC).



“SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL EXTRA”: For the second straight season, the
17-game Sunday Night Football schedule will be available to fans on NBC
Sports as well as streamed live on NBCSports.com and NFL.com.



The live coverage on NBCSports.com and NFL.com will once again come
from NBC Sports’ broadcast of Sunday Night Football plus four
additional camera angles and several new interactive features.  Sunday
Night Football Extra will employ a full HD-quality player using
Microsoft Silverlight and Smooth Streaming that will help set new
benchmarks for live streaming video cross-platform. The video player,
the highest quality yet, will include full DVR and functionality
allowing the user to pause and scroll back-and-forth – even review
plays in “slo-mo”—all while watching live video.



ROTOWORLD.COM‘S WEEK
3 FANTASY SLEEPER PICKS: Rotoworld.com managing editor Gregg Rosenthal,
who was named Fantasy Football Writer of the Year by the Fantasy Sports
Writers Association, picks his fantasy sleepers for Week 3.



1. Trent Edwards, Bills QB vs. Saints: New Orleans’ offense will torch
Buffalo, which will have Edwards playing catch-up all game against a
shaky Saints secondary.

2. Byron Leftwich, Bucs QB vs. Giants: The new king of garbage time
figures to be trailing early against the Giants - and throwing often.

3. Chris Wells, Cardinals RB vs. Colts: Indy’s rush defense has
struggled to get off the field, and don’t have the size to deal with
Arizona’s bruising rookie.

4. Mike Sims-Walker, Jaguars WR vs. Texans: Formerly just “Walker” the
new single hyphenate is Jacksonville’s most talented wideout and he’s
back in the starting lineup.  Pick him up!

5. 49ers Defense vs. Vikings: Young, improving unit + Brett Favre = Turnovers.



2009 “NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” REMAINING SCHEDULE

Football Night in America begins every Sunday at 7 p.m. ET

Sun. Sept. 27           Week 3          Indianapolis Colts at Arizona Cardinals

Sun. Oct. 4             Week 4  San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers

Sun. Oct. 11            Week 5          Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans

Sun. Oct. 18            Week 6  Chicago Bears at Atlanta Falcons

Sun. Oct. 25            Week 7  Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants

Sun. Nov. 1             Week 8  NO SNF GAME   (Football Night airs 7-8 p.m.)

Sun. Nov. 8             Week 9  Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles

Sun. Nov. 15            Week 10 New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts

Sun. Nov. 22            *Week 11        Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears

Sun. Nov. 29            *Week 12        Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens

Sun. Dec. 6             *Week 13        New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins

Sun. Dec. 13            *Week 14        Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants

Sun. Dec. 20            *Week 15        Minnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers

Sun. Dec. 27            *Week 16        Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins

Sun. Jan. 3             *Week 17        TBA



*Flex Week



NBC & THE NFL: NBC’s long history with the NFL dates back 70 years
to 1939 when NBC became the first network to televise an NFL game –
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Brooklyn Dodgers from Ebbets Field to the
approximately 1,000 sets then in New York. NBC first broadcast the NFL
Championship Game in 1955.  In 1964, NBC signed a five-year contract to
televise the AFL.  NBC was awarded the AFC package in 1970, an
association that would continue through the 1997-98 season. NBC
televised the first Super Bowl in 1967, the historic New York Jets’
upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in 1969, and this past
February broadcast Super Bowl XLIII, the most-watched program in
television history.




       Members of the media can get more information about NBC
Universal and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web
site at www.nbcumv.com.

# # #

Keywords · Arizona Cardinals · Indianapolis Colts · NBC · Football Night in America

Name: Brian Walker
Organization: NBC
Email:
Phone: +1.212-664-5533
URL: http://www.nbcuni.com

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