NBC Sports presents a pair of NFL games this holiday weekend, beginning with a special edition of "Sunday Night Football" this Saturday night in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as Clay Matthews and the Green Bay Packers host Case Keenum and the NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on NBC. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with "Football Night in America."
On Monday, Dec. 25, NBC presents an NFL Christmas special, as Ben Roethlisberger and the AFC North champion Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Houston to face DeAndre Hopkins and the Texans at NRG Stadium. Coverage begins at 4 p.m. Steelers-Texans will also be televised by NFL Network, and streamed live on Amazon Prime Video, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, NFL Mobile from Verizon, Watch NFL Network, the NFL app on Microsoft, and NFL Game Pass (International).
Monday's telecast marks NBC's 15th national TV game in 51 days - an unprecedented stretch for any network. The run, which included games in NBC's "SNF" and "TNF" packages, began with the Nov. 5 Oakland Raiders-Miami Dolphins matchup on "Sunday Night Football."
Minnesota (11-3) seeks to secure a first-round bye after locking up the division title last weekend with a 34-7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. QB Case Keenum had a 138.4 passer rating while completing 87 percent of his passes in last week's win. Keenum now has five games with a 115-plus passer rating and 70-plus completion percentage to tie Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre (2009) and Daunte Culpepper (2004) for the most such games in a season in franchise history.
Green Bay aims to bounce back following a 31-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. WR Davante Adams, who ranks second in the league for touchdown catches, had his 10th touchdown reception of the season and looks for his third consecutive game with a touchdown reception. QB Brett Hundley has six touchdowns against one interception in his last three starts.
The 11-3 Steelers can lock up a first-round bye with a win plus a Jacksonville loss on Sunday. RB Le'Veon Bell, who leads the NFL with 1,849 scrimmage yards and 1,222 rush yards, had 165 scrimmage yards and one touchdown in last week's loss to the New England Patriots. The Steelers placed a league-best eight players on the Pro Bowl roster, including first-time selections tackle Alejandro Villanueva and placekicker Chris Boswell.
Houston looks to rebound from last week's loss in Jacksonville. WR DeAndre Hopkins made his NFL-leading 12th touchdown reception of the season against the Jaguars. Hopkins needs eight catches to become the second player in franchise history (Andre Johnson) with multiple 100-plus catch seasons.
Calling Vikings-Packers are seven-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his record 32nd season as the voice of the NFL's premier primetime package; 16-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth; and two-time Emmy Award-winning sideline reporter Michele Tafoya.
"Football Night in America," the most-watched studio show in sports, will be hosted by Liam McHugh, who will report on-site from Lambeau Field alongside "PFT Live" co-host Chris Simms, and Dan Patrick, who will host from Studio 1 at NBC Sports Group's International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Connecticut. Patrick is joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com and "PFT Live" on NBCSN and NBC Sports Radio. Paul Burmeister will report from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Colts-Ravens.
On Monday, two-time NFL MVP and Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner joins Mike Tirico and sideline reporter Heather Cox for Steelers-Texans. Coverage starts at 4 p.m. with "Football Night in Houston." Patrick will serve as the host of the pregame show from Studio 1 at NBC Sports Group's International Broadcast Center in Stamford, joined by Dungy and Harrison.
