Sunday NFL Countdown: Antonio Brown’s Olympian Fan; Images of the Season; #Countdown2sb50 Winner Revealed; and More
ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown host Chris Berman, with analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson will preview NFL action on the final Sunday of the regular season on January 3 at 11 a.m. ET. Reporter/host Wendi Nix will host select segments, NFL insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter will report the day’s headlines and news, with senior analyst Matthew Berry and special contributor Stephen A. Smith.
The two-hour program will include a reveal of the #Countdown2sb50 winner – an in-season, weekly social media contest where viewers responded to a hashtag on the @ESPNNFL Twitter handle as entries to win a grand prize of two tickets, flight and hotel to Super Bowl 50. Every Sunday, over the first 15 weeks of the season, a winning entry was announced. Each week’s winner is automatically eligible for the grand prize. On Sunday’s Countdown, the grand prize winner will be announced.
Preceding Sunday NFL Countdown, Trey Wingo, NFL Insiders Mortensen and Schefter and NFL Front Office Insider Louis Riddick, will host NFL Insiders: Sunday Edition at 10 a.m.
Reporter game assignments for week 17:
- Jets at Bills (Sal Paolantonio)
- Steelers at Browns (Josina Anderson)
- Raiders at Chiefs (Ed Werder)
- Chargers at Broncos (Britt McHenry)
- Vikings at Packers (Bob Holtzman)
Features:
- Antonio Brown and his Olympian Fan: In the first Steelers-Browns meeting of the season on Nov. 15, Steelers Pro Bowl wide receiver Antonio Brown capped a 56-yard reception by front-flipping into the end zone for a touchdown. In Houston, former American gymnast and 1984 Summer Olympics gold medalist Mary Lou Retton was watching. A longtime Steelers fan who grew up in West Virginia, Retton was impressed. She judged Brown’s front-flip a “Perfect 10” and said so via Twitter the following morning. SportsCenter’s Jade McCarthy
- Images of the Season: Countdown captures the key moments and indelible images that will define the 2015 NFL season.
NFL Sundays on ESPN Radio: Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns
ESPN Radio’s national coverage of Sunday afternoon NFL games continues Sunday, Dec. 27, at noon when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Cleveland Browns, led by quarterback Johnny Manziel. Marc Kestecher will call the game with analyst Bill Polian and reporter Ian Fitzsimmons.
NFL Matchup: Jets at Buffalo; Seattle at Arizona; Minnesota at Green Bay; and More
NFL Matchup host Sal Paolantonio and analysts Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge preview the final weekend of NFL regular-season matchups via film-room X’s and O’s analysis Saturday, Jan. 2, at 7:30 a.m. on ESPN2 (re-air on ESPN, Sunday at 3 and 5:30 a.m.). Highlights:
- Hoge Breakdown – Jets at Buffalo: Jets Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker have set an NFL record for the most games with a touchdown catch by a duo of wide receivers in a season. However, in the week 10 meeting, the Bills were able to slow the duo down en-route to a 22-17 victory. Hoge picks a play from that matchup featuring Decker to show how the Jets offense can win against the Bills defense.
- Inside the Matchup – Seattle at Arizona: From their last meeting in Seattle, Jaworski explains how Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer fooled Seattle’s Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman with a pass to wide receiver Michael Floyd, Jr. in the end zone.
- Anatomy of a Play and Matchup Extra – Minnesota at Green Bay: Using a play that ended in a 27-yard touchdown by wide receiver James Jones, Jaworski shows how Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers improvises to place his team in favorable matchups. To show the contrast, Hoge explains a play where Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater stuck with his pre-snap read, though not the correct one, and made a great throw to tight end Kyle Rudolph for a touchdown against the Packers zero blitz.
ESPN.com and ESPN Insider
ESPN.com and ESPN Insider continue to provide ongoing coverage of the 2015 NFL season and upcoming NFL Playoffs. Among this week’s notable stories:
- ESPN’s NFL Nation reporters offer New Year’s Resolutions for all 32 NFL teams;
- NFL Insider Adam Caplan provides a list of names to watch for NFL general manager openings this offseason;
- NFL Nation Seahawks reporter Sheil Kapadia and ESPN college football reporter Adam Rittenberg offer a list of possible destinations where Chip Kelly could land after being fired by the Philadelphia Eagles this week.
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