The Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions meet on Sunday night to wrap up the day’s doubleheader of playoff games. The Lions won a division for the first time since 1993, while the Rams are in the postseason for the fifth time in seven years.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford returns to Detroit, where he played 12 seasons after being selected first in the 2009 NFL Draft.
Stafford was traded after the 2020 season to the Rams for Jared Goff, who was the first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and led the Rams to the Super Bowl after the 2018 season. Both quarterbacks made the Pro Bowl with their new teams, and Stafford led the Rams to a Super Bowl LVI win.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on NBC. This is 20 minutes earlier than the regular season Sunday night games.
Who Are the Game Announcers for Rams-Lions?
Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth are in the booth, while Melissa Stark is reporting on the sidelines, and Terry McAulay is the rules analyst. This is Tirico’s second game of the weekend after calling Saturday’s Miami Dolphins at the Kansas City Chiefs on Peacock.
Tirico is in his second season as the play-by-play announcer for Sunday Night Football. He joined NBC in 2012 after spending 25 years at ESPN and was the Monday Night Football play-by-play announcer for 10 seasons.
Collinsworth is in his 15th season providing game analysis for Sunday Night Football. He has won 17 Emmy awards, including stops at HBO, FOX, and the NFL Network. Collinsworth played wide receiver for eight seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, from 1981 to 1988, and made three Pro Bowls.
MORE: NFL Playoff Bracket
Stark is in her second season as a sideline reporter for NBC. Along with NBC, she worked for ESPN and the NFL Network during her career. Stark covered an NFL game as a sideline reporter for the 100th time late in the season.
McAulay joined NBC as a rules analyst in 2018 after 20 years as an on-field NFL official. He was a referee for 17 seasons and was assigned to the Super Bowl three times.
Cris Collinsworth’s Playoff Career
Collinsworth played in the postseason three times in eight years with the Bengals. He had 21 receptions for 354 yards in seven games, and his only playoff touchdown came in his first game against the Buffalo Bills in 1981.
Collinsworth reached the Super Bowl twice but lost both times to the San Francisco 49ers. In his second meeting, the Bengals lost on a Joe Montana touchdown pass in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
The game played in January of 1989 was the final game of Collinsworth’s career. He had eight catches for 147 yards in his two Super Bowl appearances.
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!
