Sunday NFL Countdown: Falcons Wide Receivers, Christmas Crank Calls, NFL Moms & More
Monday Night Football: Eagles Host Raiders on Christmas Night
Sunday NFL Countdown (Dec. 24, 10 a.m. ET)
Sam Ponder will host ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown with NFL analysts Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss, Rex Ryan and Charles Woodson. The pregame show will also include NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen, Louis Riddick and Adam Schefter and senior fantasy sports analyst Matthew Berry.
Reporter assignments:
- Dolphins at Chiefs (Dan Graziano)
- Bills at Patriots (Sal Paolantonio)
- Falcons at Saints (Josina Anderson)
- Rams at Titans (Dianna Russini)
- Seahawks at Cowboys (Jeff Darlington)
Features:
- Falcons Wide Receivers – Atlanta Falcons wide receivers Taylor Gabriel, Justin Hardy, Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu invited ESPN’s Darren Woodson to check out their separation and speed drills. They also explain the origin of their nicknames.
- Christmas Crank Calls – Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen and ESPN’s Jac Collinsworth make Christmas-themed calls to Olsen’s teammates.
- NFL Moms Roundtable – Annie Apple, mother of New York Giants cornerback Eli Apple, returns to Countdown for another NFL Moms Roundtable. She is joined by the mothers of Joey Bosa (Los Angeles Chargers defensive end), Christian McCaffrey (Panthers running back), LeSean McCoy (Buffalo Bills running back) and Richard Sherman (Seattle Seahawks cornerback).
- Redskins Surprise – Thirty years ago, more than 100 fans in Washington received an invitation to collect two game tickets. NFL Films chronicles their experience, which included a big surprise.
ESPN Radio – Buffalo at New England (Dec. 24, noon ET)
Play-by-play voice Adam Amin will call Sunday’s Bills-Patriots game on ESPN Radio with analyst and Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Polian and reporter Sal Paolantonio. Coverage begins at noon ET.
Monday Night Football – Eagles Host Raiders on Christmas Night (Dec. 25, 8:15 p.m. ET)
Having already clinched the NFC East with a league-best 12-2 record, the Philadelphia Eagles host the Oakland Raiders on Christmas night on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. The MNF commentator team of play-by-play voice Sean McDonough, analyst Jon Gruden and sideline reporter Lisa Salters will call the game from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Earlier in the day, Salters will work the Philadelphia 76ers-New York Knicks game (noon ET, ESPN) as part of ESPN and ABC’s four-game NBA lineup on Christmas Day.
Raiders-Eagles will also be streamed live on the ESPN App and televised in Spanish on ESPN Deportes with commentators Alvaro Martin, Raul Allegre and John Sutcliffe.
Monday Night Countdown (Dec. 25, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Prior to the game, Suzy Kolber will host an abbreviated 45-minute Monday Night Countdown with NFL analysts Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss and Rex Ryan and NFL insiders Chris Mortensen, Louis Riddick and Adam Schefter. Countdown will also include appearances from the MNF commentator team and senior fantasy sports analyst Matthew Berry as well as the week 16 edition of Boomer’s Vault with ESPN’s Chris Berman. Highlights:
- Gruden’s Chalk Talk: MNF analyst Jon Gruden talks with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, a past participant in his QB Camp
- Boomer’s Vault: ESPN’s Chris Berman reminisces about Brett Favre’s performance on Dec. 22, 2003. A day after his father died, Favre threw for four touchdowns and 399 yards to lead the Packers to a 41-7 win over the Raiders.
ESPN NFL shows leading into the week 16 NFL games:
| Date | Time (ET) | Show | Network |
| Sunday, Dec. 24 | 3 and 5:30 a.m. | NFL Matchup | ESPN |
| 10 a.m. | Sunday NFL Countdown | ESPN | |
| 10 a.m. | Fantasy Football Now | ESPN2 | |
| Monday, Dec. 25 | 2 p.m. | NFL Live | ESPN2
ESPN |
| 7:30 p.m. | Monday Night Countdown | ESPN |
ESPN Digital:
- NFL MVP poll: Gurley (and everyone else) chasing Brady – Dan Graziano, ESPN.com
- NFL Insiders predict: Week 16 upsets, flops, Bortles’ future, more – ESPN NFL Insiders, ESPN.com
- What you need to know about a potential Carolina Panthers sale – Kevin Seifert, ESPN.com
- All the Quarterbacks Who Could Change Teams in 2018 – Bill Barnwell, ESPN.com
-30-
-
-
-
-
-
