Photos via ESPN Images

• Sunday NFL Countdown: Early Start at 9 a.m. ET, College GameDay’s Kirk Herbstreit Joins Countdown, Randy Moss Conversation with Vikings’ Adam Thielen
• Monday Night Football: AFC North Rivalry – Steelers at Bengals
• Monday Night Countdown: Gruden Conversation with T.J. Watt, Beisner-Buck Profiles Steelers’ Artie Burns

Sunday NFL Countdown (Dec. 3, 9 a.m. ET)

Host Sam Ponder and analysts Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss, Rex Ryan and Charles Woodson will preview the NFL’s week 13 games on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown beginning at 9 a.m. ET – starting one hour earlier to accommodate the College Football Playoff Selection Show (12–4 p.m.). The program will also feature NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen, Louis Riddick and Adam Schefter, and senior fantasy sports analyst Matthew Berry.

ESPN’s lead college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit will make a guest appearance on the three-hour program, joining Ponder, his former GameDay colleague, and the Countdown crew to discuss the college football playoff selection process and to preview the 2018 NFL Draft quarterback class.

Reporter assignments:

• Vikings at Falcons (Jeff Darlington)
• Chiefs at Jets (Josina Anderson)
• Patriots at Bills (Dan Graziano)
• Panthers at Saints (Dianna Russini)
• Giants at Raiders (Sal Paolantonio)
• Eagles at Seahawks (Jim Trotter)

Features:

• Adam Thielen: Growing up in Detroit Lakes, Minn., Adam Thielen idolized Randy Moss, the leading receiver for his favorite team, the Minnesota Vikings. Undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft from Minnesota State University, Thielen has worked hard to become the Vikings leading receiver with 1,005 receiving yards in 11 games. Countdown’s Moss returns to the Vikings facility for a conversation with Thielen.
• NFL Films – Robert Kraft’s Pro Tennis Team: Before purchasing the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft owned the Lobsters of World Team Tennis. Countdown looks back at Kraft’s 1974 purchase of the Lobsters and shows how his initial pro team ownership experience helped shape his path to success with the Patriots. Louis Riddick
• Who’s In?: Ahead of the announcement of the four teams in the 2018 College Football Playoff, Herbstreit and the Countdown analysts pick four NFL teams they’d each place in a four-team playoff.

Monday Night Football – Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals (Dec. 4, 8:15 p.m. ET)

Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Cincinnati to face the AFC North rival Bengals and Andy Dalton on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. With a 9-2 record, the Steelers are tied with New England atop the AFC. MNF play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough will call the action from Paul Brown Stadium with analyst Jon Gruden and sideline reporter Lisa Salters.

MNF will also be streamed live on the ESPN App. Additionally, ESPN Deportes will televise Steelers-Bengals in Spanish with commentators Alvaro Martin, Raul Allegre and John Sutcliffe. 

ESPN NFL shows leading into the week 13 NFL games:

Monday Night Countdown (Dec. 4, 6 p.m. ET)

Leading into the Steelers-Bengals MNF game, Suzy Kolber will host Monday Night Countdown (6 p.m.) with NFL analysts Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss, Charles Woodson and Steve Young from Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. Insiders Chris Mortensen, Louis Riddick and Adam Schefter, senior fantasy sports analyst Matthew Berry and the MNF commentator team will contribute. Highlights:

• Gruden’s Chalk Talk – T.J. Watt: MNF analyst Jon Gruden sits for a conversation with Steelers rookie linebacker T.J. Watt – brother to Houston Texan and four-time NFL Pro Bowler J.J. Watt.
• Artie Burns: Steelers second-year cornerback Artie Burns is a football player and a father figure. After his mother died from a heart condition during his junior year at the University of Miami, Burns became the legal guardian of his two brothers, who moved in with him. Burns’ siblings – Thomas and Jordan – stayed back with family during his rookie season in 2016. This year, they have moved to Pittsburgh as the family reunites under the care of the 22-year-old Steeler, reports Michelle Beisner-Buck.
• Boomer’s Vault: Chris Berman looks back at MNF on October 10, 2005 – the Steelers 24-22 road victory at the San Diego Chargers that eventually helped propel them to a Super Bowl victory in February 2006.

ESPN Radio: Doubleheader Sunday – Vikings at Falcons and Rams at Cardinals

ESPN Radio’s weekly NFL broadcasts continue Sunday, Dec. 3, with a doubleheader – Minnesota Vikings at Atlanta Falcons (noon), followed by Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals (4 p.m.). Marc Kestecher, Bill Polian and reporter Jeff Darlington will call the early game, while Adam Amin and Dusty Dvoracek will be in the booth for the second game.

ESPN Digital:

• QB Confidence Index: Rating all 32 NFL quarterback situations – Dan Graziano, ESPN.com
• What’s next for Eli Manning – Jordan Ranaan, ESPN.com
• Randy Moss on Adam Thielen: ‘He’s uplifted this Minnesota Vikings team’ – Courtney Cronin, ESPN.com
• Sources: NFL agrees to commit $89M over seven years to social justice causes – Jim Trotter and Jason Reid, ESPN.com
• For starters, Jeff Blake never lacked confidence – Jerry Bembry, The Undefeated

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