FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 23rd, 2023
LAMAR JACKSON AND JASON KELCE SPEAK WITH PETER KING AS HE HIGHLIGHTS WEEK 7 NFL ACTION IN THIS WEEK’S “FMIA” COLUMN
“Sunday’s game had to remind coach John Harbaugh and GM Eric DeCosta why those perpetual knots in their guts from January to April were worth it.”– King on Ravens QB Lamar Jackson’s contract and performance in Baltimore’s win over Detroit
“I can’t imagine what it’s like for opposing defensive coaches to try to find ways to beat this man. Like: Everyone knows he’s targeting Travis Kelce all day and all night, and does anyone stop it? Nope.” – King on the connection between Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and TE Travis Kelce
“The good thing for us is, we know how to run the play and we have a way to get to it at the line. A lot of that play just comes down to who can get organized faster.” – Eagles C Jason Kelce on the ‘Tush Push’
STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 23, 2023 – Peter King speaks with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce after wins by their teams on Sunday in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also discusses the Chiefs’ win over the Chargers, Myles Garrett’s stellar season, and more.
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The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:
EAGLES
Eagles center Jason Kelce to King on head coach Nick Sirianni’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 in Dolphins territory in the fourth quarter: “Nick comes up to us on the sidelines, and he’s like, ‘What am I thinking?! Get back out there. Let’s do this!’”
Kelce on the ‘Tush Push’ play: “Nobody wants to defend that play, quite frankly, and for us, it’s not a play that you’re super fired up to run because of how exhausting it is.”
Kelce: “The good thing for us is, we know how to run the play and we have a way to get to it at the line. A lot of that play just comes down to who can get organized faster.”
Kelce on his brother Travis’ relationship with Taylor Swift: “This is another level of stardom that typically football players don’t deal with. And so on one hand, really, really happy for my brother and where he’s at in his current situation with Taylor but on the other hand, there’s some, I think, alarms sometimes with how you know, over-in-pursuit people can be. Overall, he can deal with some of this. As long as it’s not, you know, becoming a threat to his safety and things like that.”
RAVENS
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson on Baltimore’s win over Detroit: “We need to keep playing with the consistency we showed today. If we do, I believe the sky’s the limit for our offense.”
Jackson: “Keep the ball. Keep getting first downs. Keep getting long drives. Then, once you keep scoring points, you’re messing with the defense’s head a little bit. They can’t stop it.”
King on how re-signing Jackson this offseason has impacted the Ravens: “Sunday’s game — Ravens 38, Lions 6, and it could have been two touchdowns worse — had to remind coach John Harbaugh and GM Eric DeCosta why those perpetual knots in their guts from January to April were worth it.”
King on Jackson’s development as a passer: “A couple of times on Baltimore’s four early TD drives, you’d swear Jackson was taking off for a gain of eight or 10, then sliding down, but instead he’d stop suddenly and find a receiver for those eight or 10 yards. The maturation of a player who wants to last 15 years in the league — that’s how it struck me.”
KING’S WEEK 7 AWARDS
Offensive Players of the Week: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City, Lamar Jackson, Baltimore, Tyson Bagent, Chicago, & Mac Jones, New England
King on the Mahomes-Travis Kelce connection: “I can’t imagine what it’s like for opposing defensive coaches to try to find ways to beat this man. Like: Everyone knows he’s targeting Travis Kelce all day and all night, and does anyone stop it? Nope.”
Defensive Players of the Week: Myles Garrett, Cleveland, & Foyesade Oluokun, Jacksonville
King on Garrett: “I don’t know who’s going to win Defensive Player of the Year, but I can tell you Garrett will be in the discussion. Like, in the final final discussion.”
Coach of the Week: Bill Belichick, New England
King on Belichick reaching 300 career regular-season wins: “This was Belichick’s 331st win encompassing all games, leaving him 17 from breaking (Don) Shula’s record. Seems likely it’ll be 2025 before Belichick makes that sort of history, assuming he’s still coaching somewhere.”
Special Teams Players of the Week: Leonard Williams, New York Giants, Younghoe Koo, Atlanta, & Logan Cooke, Jacksonville
NEWS & NOTES
King on Belichick’s reported contract extension signed over the summer: “Paying off a contract won’t stand in the way of Robert Kraft doing what he thinks is best for the organization…Kraft’s going to do what he thinks is best for the franchise after the season, whether it’s keeping Belichick or moving on.”
King on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s three-year contract extension: “Goodell certainly appears to not be beaten down by the job, and he has full support of ownership without factions chipping away at him. That makes it more likely than not he’ll be in the chair more than three-and-a-third years longer.”
Falcons DL Calais Campbell on taking care of his body to extend his career: “Why not give your body the best opportunity you can? I don’t know when the wheels are going to fall off, but I’m fighting Father Time as hard as I can, round by round. I’m trying to get another round in.”
King on the Chargers’ offensive struggles: “The expected freeing-up of (Justin) Herbert by new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore hasn’t materialized, in part because the quarterback is under increasing pressure. As is the coaching staff.”
Read the full FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.
The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage:
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- PFT Live with NBC Sports’ Mike Florio (Mondays) and Florio and Chris Simms (Tuesday-Thursday) streams on Peacock from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET on weekdays & is available on-demand. The Dan Patrick Show streams at 9 a.m. ET, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry at Noon ET, Brother From Another at 3 p.m. ET, PFT PM at 5 p.m. ET. At 6 p.m. ET, Chris Simms Unbuttoned streams Tuesday-Friday.
- com continues to provide the latest news and updates.
- NBC Sports EDGE’s Rotoworld Football Show continues the NFL discussion and Bet The Edge Podcast provides daily betting insights.
- The NFL on NBC YouTube channel offers daily football content for free, with exclusive videos from Peter King – including his interviews with players and coaches at training camps – Mike Florio, Chris Simms, and more. To access all of these videos and more, click here to subscribe
A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 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 PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.
—NBC SPORTS—