"FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA" FEATURES MIKE TIRICO'S INTERVIEW WITH ATLANTA FALCONS QB MATT RYAN AND HEAD COACH DAN QUINN
"This is going to be one of those things that provides fuel for me as I move forward the rest of my career." – Ryan on losing last season's Super Bowl
"Get comfortable being uncomfortable…the pain was deep and real…believe me, I went through it." – Quinn
STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 17, 2017 – Tonight's Week 2 edition of NBC's Football Night in America, the most-watched weekly studio show in sports, includes a feature on the Atlanta Falcons following last season's Super Bowl defeat, highlighted by a Mike Tirico interview with Falcons QB Matt Ryan and head coach Dan Quinn. Football Night will also include highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 2 games, ahead of tonight's NFC Championship Game rematch between the Falcons and Green Bay Packers, as the Falcons open their new home, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, on Sunday Night Football.
Football Night airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC. Tirico will host Sunday's program live from inside the stadium, joined on site by the Sunday Night Football team of Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya.
Dan Patrick hosts Football Night from NBC Sports Group's Studio 1, and is joined by Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, and NFL Insider Mike Florio of NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk. Kathryn Tappen will report from Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on the Cowboys-Broncos game.
INTERVIEWS: Below are excerpts from Tirico's interviews with Ryan and Quinn. If used, please note the mandatory credit: "In an exclusive interview airing tonight on Football Night in America."
MIKE TIRICO WITH MATT RYAN AND DAN QUINN
Tirico: "After the Super Bowl, you come in and watch it three straight times, try and flush it – how effective was that?"
Ryan: "It helped a little bit."
Tirico: "Just a little bit?"
Ryan: "Yeah, just a little bit (laughing). It was one of those things…I really wasn't going to do it, and (head coach) Dan (Quinn) said, 'I think it would be good if you just watch it, and get through it, and do it on your own time – but do it early.'"
Quinn on telling Ryan to watch last year's Super Bowl: "Get comfortable being uncomfortable, knowing that these are hard conversations. The pain was deep and real, and the second guessing that you have, you go through that process – and believe me, I went through it."
Ryan on losing last year's Super Bowl: "This is going to be one of those things that provides fuel for me as I move forward the rest of my career. Regardless of what happens this year, hopefully we win Super Bowls moving forward, but you'll never forget those things."
Tirico to Quinn: "You've been a part of winning Super Bowls; you've been a part of losing Super Bowls. You realize how hard it is to get there, even though you've been a part of three of the last four. Does that help you in any way transmit to your team that these are separate seasons, there's no carryover from year to year to year?"
Quinn: "That's exactly the message of, 'You put it all in. You empty the bucket for this season.' That's what it takes, competing for a championship, it's as fun as you can possibly imagine. As awesome as it is to win it, I certainly know the disappointment on the other side of it, but the connection that you have as a team, the brotherhood, that strength, that bond, is awesome."
Ryan on Quinn: "He sets the tone for everyone in our organization – how it goes, how we're going to deal with this, and much like every other situation that has come up during his time here, he attacks it head on. He doesn't shy away from anything, he doesn't shy away from the fact that we fell short of where we wanted to get to, but is also very blunt about, 'That one's done, and it's more important what is in front of us.'"
Quinn on being contacted by Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr after losing last year's Super Bowl: "I felt it was important, especially for a guy like Steve, who had a lead on Cleveland (in the 2016 NBA Finals), and they came back, and the mindset of the team. You feel that pain. But at the same time, Steve was also the one that said, 'Dan, this is the life we live as competitors. Go battle for it again like crazy.' It's not going to define who we are – '17 is here, and how are we going to battle for it in the biggest way?"
Tirico: "Steve won the next year."
Quinn: "You know, I saw that (laughing)."