Sunday NFL Countdown: Falcons’ Devonta Freeman – Escaping Liberty City; How the Eagles Settled on Carson Wentz; and more
Host Chris Berman and analysts Trent Dilfer, Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss and Charles Woodson will preview the NFL’s week 8 games on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown (Oct. 30 at 11 a.m. ET). Wendi Nix will host segments, NFL Insider Adam Schefter will report the latest league news and senior fantasy sports analyst Matthew Berry will provide insight on the day’s key matchups.
New Orleans Saints tight end Coby Fleener, quarterback Drew Brees’ newest target, is the subject of this week’s “Countdown Cam” – offering viewers a behind-the-scenes look as he prepares to face the visiting Seattle Seahawks.
Sunday NFL Countdown is preceded by NFL Insiders: Sunday Edition (10 a.m., ESPN) with host Trey Wingo, Mark Dominik, Louis Riddick and Schefter.
Reporter game assignments for Week 8:
- Patriots vs. Bills (Sal Paolantonio)
- Seahawks vs. Saints (Britt McHenry)
- Packers vs. Falcons (Josina Anderson)
- Eagles vs. Cowboys (Ed Werder)
Features:
- Drafting Wentz: The Eagles made a big move up in the 2016 NFL Draft to select quarterback Carson Wentz, who they hoped would be their quarterback of the future. Schefter reports the inside story of how the Eagles made the decision to send a bevy of picks – five drafts picks through the 2018 NFL Draft – to the Browns in exchange for the No. 2 overall pick they used for Carson Wentz.
- Devonta Freeman: Escaping Liberty City: After a breakout year in 2015, Falcons running back Devonta Freeman is off to a hot start again this season. Reporter Jim Trotter tells the story of how far Freeman has come from his time growing up in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood.
- Matthew Berry: Up to the minute fantasy football news and analysis throughout Countdown as Berry dives deeper into his fantasy Loves and Hates for the week and breaks down the news as actives and inactives are announced.
NFC North Rivalry on Monday Night Football: Bears Host Division-Leading Vikings in Chicago
Sam Bradford and the division-leading Minnesota Vikings travel to Chicago to face the Bears under the Monday Night Football lights on Halloween at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN. Sean McDonough will call the game from Soldier Field with analyst and Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden and sideline reporter Lisa Salters. Vikings-Bears will also be available in Spanish on ESPN Deportes and streamed live on WatchESPN for fans with video subscriptions from affiliated providers.
The Vikings and the Bears have met 13 times on MNF, which is tied with Dolphins-Jets for the third most-played MNF matchup (the Redskins and the Cowboys and the Raiders and the Broncos have each met 17 times on MNF).
Before the game, Suzy Kolber hosts Monday Night Countdown (6 p.m., ESPN) from Chicago with analysts Trent Dilfer, Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss, Charles Woodson and Steve Young. Features reporter Michelle Beisner-Buck and the MNF announce team will also contribute to the pregame show along with studio host Chris Berman and NFL Insider Adam Schefter (in Bristol).
Monday Night Countdown highlights:
- Chris Berman’s NFL Legend: Every NFL Monday throughout the 2016 season, Chris Berman is joined in Bristol by NFL legends. This week, Hall of Famer Jim Kelly joins Berman to discuss Sunday’s games and preview Monday night’s Vikings vs. Bears.
- George Halas – Dodging Death: Bears founder George Halas has a legacy in the NFL as permanent as his initials on the sleeve of every Bears uniform. This Monday, on the 33rd anniversary of his death, Michelle Beisner-Buck tells the story of Halas’ brush with death at the age of 20.
- Gruden’s Grill Session with Sam Bradford: MNF’s Jon Gruden sits down with the Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford to discuss Minnesota’s hot 5-0 start, and what went wrong last week in Bradford’s return to Philadelphia – the team’s first loss of the season.
- C’Mon Man: Countdown will feature a special edition of “C’Mon Man!” as the crew will don Halloween-themed attire and share their head-scratching plays for the weekend.
ESPN Radio – Russell Wilson and Seattle Seahawks vs. Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints
ESPN Radio will continue its 2016 Sunday NFL schedule on Sunday, Oct. 30, at noon, as the Seattle Seahawks visit the New Orleans Saints – a matchup of two leading quarterbacks in Russell Wilson (Seahawks) and Drew Brees (Saints). Adam Amin and analyst Bill Polian will call the game.
ESPN The Magazine: How Sam Bradford – dismissed, injured, ridiculed, traded — is rewriting the NFL’s script on him
ESPN senior writer Tim Keown profiles quarterback Sam Bradford, whose unobtrusive personality has meshed perfectly with the negligible impact he has made since being the No. 1 pick in 2010. Bradford is leading the offense for the NFL’s last team to lose a game – the 5-1 Minnesota Vikings. The profile, currently on ESPN.com, will appear in ESPN The Magazine’s October 31 NBA Preview Issue.
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