POSTED: Thursday October 15th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GUNSLINGING QUARTERBACKS CLASH IN ATLANTA AS CUTLER LEADS THE BEARS AGAINST RYAN AND THE FALCONS ON "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL"

“A rematch of the single-most exciting regular-season matchup from last season.” – Collinsworth

       “He’s going to be a great player in this league.” – Dungy on Matt Ryan




       NEW YORK – Oct. 15, 2009 – Jay Cutler leads the 3-1 Bears
against Matt Ryan and the 3-1 Falcons this Sunday in a rematch of one
of 2008’s most exciting games on “NBC Sunday Night Football.”



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 the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga.



Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann will co-host “Football Night” 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 Bills-Jets game at the Meadowlands.



COLLINSWORTH ON THE MATCHUP: “A rematch of the single-most exciting
regular-season matchup from last season. That game propelled the
Falcons, legitimized Matt Ryan and was a blow to the guts of the Bears.”



DUNGY ON MATT RYAN NOW IN HIS SECOND YEAR: “He can start thinking about
the defenses rather than just think about his plays.  Matt Ryan has
improved and he’s going to be a great player in this league.”



DUNGY ON THE BEARS: “Chicago is playing very good offensively and
putting a lot of points on the board.  After that first game they have
played very good football.  They are on a roll.”



BEARS VS. FALCONS: The Bears lead the all-time series 12-11 and have
won eight of the last 10. The Falcons, however, won last year’s
memorable meeting in Atlanta, 22-20. With time running out, Ryan
completed a 25-yard pass to set up a game-winning 48-yard field goal as
time expired. Four of the last six meetings have been decided by seven
points or less.



BEARS-FALCONS IN PRIMETIME: This is the second SNF appearance for the
Bears this year. They were defeated, 21-15, by the Green Bay Packers on
the road in Week 1. The team has since won three straight. Chicago is
4-4 since the NFL’s premier primetime package (SNF 2006-Present, MNF
1970-2005) moved to NBC Sports in 2006. The Bears are also scheduled to
host the Eagles on Sunday, November 22. This is the Falcons first ever
SNF appearance on NBC and only scheduled appearance this season.



SUNDAY NIGHT IS 300-YARD NIGHT: For the first time in Sunday Night
Football history, winning quarterbacks have passed for 300-or-more
yards in four consecutive weeks. Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning
has accomplished the feat twice—in Weeks 3 & 5. Arizona
Cardinals QB Kurt Warner also surpassed 300 yards in a losing effort in
Week 3, giving SNF five total 300-yard passers for the season.
Following are the QBs who have passed for more than 300 yards this
season on SNF:



Week 2    Eli Manning, Giants, 330 yards vs. Cowboys – W 33-31

Week 3    Peyton Manning, Colts, 379 yards vs. Cardinals – W 31-10

Week 3    Kurt Warner, Cardinals, 332 yards vs. Colts – L 31-10

Week 4    Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers, 333 vs. Chargers – W 38-28

Week 5    Peyton Manning, Colts, 309 yards vs. Titans – W 31-9



SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL IS 5 FOR 5: SNF has been the No. 1 program across
all of primetime television for five straight Sundays. After winning 9
of 16 Sunday nights in 2006, 11 of 16 in 2007 and 13 of 16 in 2008,
“Sunday Night Football” is a perfect 5 for 5 this season.



The “Sunday Night Football” season-to-date average of 20.0 million viewers is the best start to a season in SNF history.



“SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” VIEWERSHIP THROUGH WEEK 5:

2009:    20.0 million

2008:    17.8 million

2007:    17.1 million

2006:    18.6 million



“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
6 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 6.



1. Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks QB vs. Cardinals: The Cardinals give up
the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks in the league, and
Hasselbeck is clearly over his rib injury.

2. Jonathan Stewart, Panthers RB vs. Bucs: The Panthers finally have
found a team they can score on!  Stewart is quietly looking just as
strong as DeAngelo Williams lately, and Carolina’s offensive line is
ready to run-block like it’s 2008.

3. Jamaal Charles, Chiefs RB vs. Redskins: The Chiefs are slowly
realizing that what fantasy owners did three years ago: that Larry
Johnson is done.

4. Sidney Rice, Vikings WR vs. Ravens: Baltimore’s dirty secret is that
their secondary isn’t very good anymore.  The Vikings will take
advantage; Percy Harvin would also fit on this list.

5. Eddie Royal, Broncos WR vs. Chargers: He’s not dead yet!  Look for Royal to be active on underneath routes against San Diego.



2009 “NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” REMAINING SCHEDULE

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

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 · NBC · NFL · Chicago Bears · Atlanta Falcons · NBC Sunday Night Football

Name: Adam Freifeld
Organization: NBC
Email:
Phone: +1.212-664-6772

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