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FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA [UPDATED]
Air Date: Sunday, December 21, 2014
Time Slot: 7:00 PM-8:20 PM EST on NBC
Episode Title: (#916) "122114"
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

LARRY FITZGERALD & ARIZONA CARDINALS HOST RUSSELL WILSON & SEATTLE SEAHAWKS ON NBC'S SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Coverage Begins with Football Night In America at 7 p.m. ET on NBC

NBC Sports Live Extra to Live Stream Seahawks-Cardinals

Football Night in America Averaging 8.3 Million Viewers This Season, up 4%

NBC Sports Sends Two Lucky Fans to Super Bowl XLIX with the NBC Sports Super Bowl Fan Challenge

FBU Eighth Grade National Championship Game Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

STAMFORD, Conn. - Dec. 17, 2014 - Larry Fitzgerald and the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals (11-3) host Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks (10-4) this Sunday, Dec. 21, on NBC's Sunday Night Football. The game will take place at University of Phoenix Stadium, the site of Super Bowl XLIX, which will be broadcast on NBC on Sunday, Feb. 1. Sunday night's coverage begins with Football Night In America at 7 p.m. ET.

After a 12-6 win last Thursday against the Rams, the Cardinals are the first team in the NFC to clinch a playoff berth. Arizona can retain their spot atop the NFC West this week by defeating the Seahawks on Sunday, giving them first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. The Seahawks can clinch their division for the second season in a row with victories on Sunday and in Week 17.

Last Sunday, Wilson led the Seahawks to a 17-7 win over the 49ers at home, during which RB Marshawn Lynch rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown. Wilson's career 34 regular-season wins are the most by any quarterback in their first three seasons since 1966.

The two teams last met in Week 12, when the Seahawks broke the Cardinals' six-game winning streak, beating the team 19-3.

Calling Seahawks-Cardinals is seven-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his 29th season as the voice of the NFL's premier primetime package; 15-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who has won the Emmy for Outstanding Event Analyst in each of his five seasons in the Sunday Night Football booth; and two-time Emmy Award-winning sideline reporter Michele Tafoya.

NBC's coverage of Sunday Night Football is led by Emmy Award-winning producer Fred Gaudelli and Emmy Award-winning director Drew Esocoff. Sunday Night Football has won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Live Sports Series for a record six consecutive years.

Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports, is hosted by 26-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas, who will report from University of Phoenix Stadium in in Glendale, Ariz., on Sunday. Costas will be joined on site by Collinsworth, Tafoya, two-time Super Bowl winner Hines Ward, and NBC Sports commentator Josh Elliott.

Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC Sports Group's Studio 1 and will be joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on NBCSN and NBCSports.com, and Peter King of Sports Illustrated. Kathryn Tappen will report from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on the Colts-Cowboys game.

Through the first 15 weeks of the season, Football Night in America is averaging 8.3 million viewers - up 4% from last year leading into Week 16 (8 million).

RODNEY HARRISON AND AL MICHAELS ON SEAHAWKS-CARDINALS

Harrison: "We know they have a lot of star players, but the thing I'm excited about is the contributions they're getting from their role players. DT Jordan Hill... CB Byron Maxwell are playing extremely well. They're starting to blitz more because of all of that great man-to-man coverage, and they're going against a third-string quarterback on Sunday."

Michaels: "[Cardinals coach] Bruce Arians has done a magnificent job no matter what's happened down there. Arizona has a great defense, but they're faced with their No. 3 and 4 quarterbacks facing Seattle's defense... and the Seahawks are rolling."

NBC SPORTS SUPER BOWL FAN CHALLENGE

NBC Sports will send two lucky fans to Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Ariz., with the NBC Sports Super Bowl Fan Challenge, as part of its multi-platform promotion leading up to the game on Sunday, Feb. 1, on NBC.

Beginning now through Jan. 6, 2015, fans visit the NBC Sports Super Bowl Fan Challenge and complete weekly challenges for a chance to win the grand prize - VIP access and two (2) tickets to Super Bowl XLIX, as well as hotel and airfare accommodations.

FBU EIGHTH GRADE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

NBCSN presents live coverage of the FBU Eighth Grade National Championship game this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. 121 teams of eighth graders across 16 different regions competed in the FBU National Championship tournament, with four teams advancing to this weekend's FBU Championship in Naples, Fla. After the semifinal round this Saturday, two teams will advance to this Sunday's FBU Eighth Grade National Championship game.

Paul Burmeister will serve as the play-by-play announcer, joined in the booth by Anthony Herron at Naples High School in Naples, Fla.

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

For the seventh consecutive season, Sunday Night Football will be streamed live online. NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Sports Group's live streaming product, will stream all SNF games to desktops and tablets. The full HD-quality video stream will come directly from NBC's broadcast of SNF. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available at the App Store for iPad and iPod touch, and on select tablet devices within Google Play.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL DIGITAL COVERAGE

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL ALL-ACCESS: SNF All-Access includes exclusive photos and videos of the Sunday Night Football production team, look-ins on SNF production meetings, Michele Tafoya's "Ten With Tafoya" interviews with NFL players, and conversations with SNF and FNIA talent.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SOCIAL MEDIA:

NBC Sports Group's comprehensive social media coverage includes the Sunday Night Football Facebook page, providing exclusive behind-the-scenes SNF content & digital content from NBCSports.com, SNF All Access, ProFootballTalk.com, and Rotoworld.com, @SNFonNBC, using tweets, photos, Vines and videos & real-time tweets from Michele Tafoya, and a look at SNF through the filters of Instagram.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BUS

NBC Sports Group's Sunday Night Football bus returns this season to travel the country visiting the host cities of all 17 Sunday Night Football games and postseason games, including Super Bowl XLIX. The bus arrives in each city two to three days prior to the game and stops at local landmarks and events, where fans have the opportunity to interact with America's most-watched primetime television show via exclusive memorabilia, and an interactive 55-inch touch screen housing social media elements, photos and video. Fans can digitally follow the Sunday Night Football bus at NBCSports.com/FollowSNF.

"THE SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL"

For the third consecutive season NBC Sports presents "The Sunday Night Football," a custom-made football from Wilson, which will travel with the SNF crew all season. Fans of SNF on Facebook and Twitter can keep up with "The Sunday Night Football" on the SNF Facebook page, and at the end of each SNF game, "The Sunday Night Football" will be signed by the player of the game.

For more information on Sunday Night Football's comprehensive digital coverage, click here: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2014/08/28/nbc-sports-group-surrounds-week-1-of-2014-nfl-season-with-nfl-kickoff-2014-and-sunday-night-football/

NFL TURNING POINT - TONIGHT AT 11 PM ET ON NBCSN

Tonight's all new edition of NFL Turning Point, NBCSN's Emmy Award-nominated weekly NFL show co-produced by NFL Films, will feature in-depth analysis of Sunday's matchup between Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys vs. Mark Sanchez and the Philadelphia Eagles. Airing tonight at 11 p.m. ET, NFL Turning Point will breakdown the back-and-forth battle between the two teams this past Sunday, and review how the Dallas Cowboys rallied to beat the Eagles 38-27 after blowing a 21-point lead.

In addition, this week's edition will analyze the Denver Broncos new run-first offense, and feature wired-for-sound segments with Ravens LB Terrell Suggs, Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul, and Panthers WR Kelvin Benjamin.

Hosted by Football Night In America's Dan Patrick, the hour-long program will air throughout the entire NFL season, including the playoffs and Super Bowl.

PRO FOOTBALL TALK ON NBCSN WEEKNIGHTS, 5:30 P.M. ET

Pro Football Talk, NBCSN's daily NFL studio show co-hosted by Mike Florio and Paul Burmeister, airs at 5:30 p.m. ET every Monday through Friday. Pro Football Talk provides all-encompassing coverage of the NFL, and features a roster of NBC Sports football commentators who share a combined eight Super Bowl titles and 169 seasons of NFL experience, including Cris Collinsworth (Thursdays), Tony Dungy (Tuesdays), Hines Ward (Wednesdays), Doug Flutie (Fridays), Jason Taylor, Takeo Spikes, Brian Westbrook, Ross Tucker, Jon Ritchie, NFL coach Kevin Gilbride, and longtime NFL athletic trainer Mike Ryan.

FANTASY FOOTBALL LIVE ON NBCSN TUESDAY - THURSDAY NIGHTS, 6:30 P.M. ET

Fantasy Football Live is a live and on-demand, multi-platform, fantasy football program that airs Tuesday through Thursday nights at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, combining the best fantasy football expertise from Yahoo! Sports and NBC Sports, including unique metrics from Yahoo! Sports' leading fantasy football platform, and full integration with NBC Sports' premier fantasy sports information site, Rotoworld.com.

Hosted by NBC Sports' Dave Briggs, Fantasy Football Live features a roster of Yahoo Sports, NBC Sports and Rotoworld fantasy analysts, including Rotoworld's Kay Adams, as well as Yahoo Sports' Brad Evans, Brandon Funston and Andy Behrens.

NBCSN SUNDAY SPORTS REPORT - SUNDAY NIGHTS, 11:30 P.M. ET

NBCSN Sunday Sports Report, a new, weekly, one-hour program that showcases the news and highlights of the sports properties that are carried by NBC Sports Group, airs every Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Hosted by Liam McHugh, NBCSN Sunday Sports Report goes in-depth into the high-profile sports properties that primarily air on NBC and NBCSN, including the Olympics, NFL, NASCAR, NHL, Premier League, golf, Triple Crown horse racing, Notre Dame Football, Formula One, IndyCar and more.

NBC SPORTS RADIO

NBC Sports Radio will surround the 2014 NFL season with daily coverage on 439 radio affiliates, highlighted by McNabb and Malone; an all-sports show that leverages the unique perspective of two former NFL quarterbacks, and Safety Blitz with Rodney Harrison; featuring three-time All Pro and two-time Super Bowl-winner Rodney Harrison.

To listen to a live stream of NBC Sports Radio, or find your local affiliate, visit www.NBCSportsRadio.com

NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS

NBC Sports Regional Networks, which serve top NFL markets such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Houston and San Francisco, will surround the 2014 NFL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the teams that matter most in more than 43 million U.S. households.

2014 SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NBC will broadcast 19 primetime NFL games during the 2014 regular season.

2014 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
DATE WEEK MATCHUP
*Sun. Dec. 21 Week 16 Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals
*Sun. Dec. 28 Week 17 TBA

*Flex Week

Follow "Sunday Night Football" on Twitter @SNFonNBC

Become a fan of "Sunday Night Football" on Facebook at: Facebook.com/SNFonNBC

Follow "Sunday Night Football" on Instagram @snfonnbc

Visit SNF All-Access at: http://snfallaccess.nbcsports.com/

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