- Sunday NFL Countdown: Year-end Bonuses, Matt Ryan-Michael Vick’s Relationship, and More
- Fantasy Football Now: Fantasy Football MVPs, Handicapping 2018’s Top-Five Fantasy Players, Crowning the Red Zone Champion, and More
Sunday NFL Countdown (Dec. 31, 10 a.m. ET)
Host Samantha Ponder and analysts Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss, Rex Ryan and Charles Woodson will preview the final weekend of the NFL regular-season on Sunday. The three-hour program will include contributions from NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen, Louis Riddick, Adam Schefter and senior fantasy sports analyst Matthew Berry.
Countdown correspondents will report from the key games with playoff implications, providing the latest league news, including coaches and team executives on the hot seat.
Reporter assignments:
- Jets at Patriots (Dianna Russini)
- Browns at Steelers (Dan Graziano)
- Panthers at Falcons (Josina Anderson)
- Bengals at Ravens (Sal Paolantonio)
- Jaguars at Titans (Jeff Darlington)
- Cardinals at Seahawks (Jim Trotter)
Features:
- Stressing over Year-End Bonuses: Through the voices of high profile NFL agents – Drew Rosenhaus, Leigh Steinberg, Ari Nissim, Kim Miale, David Mulugheta and Peter Schaffer, Countdown explores what it’s like on the final Sunday of the regular season when so many of their NFL player clients are on the brink of earning their performance-based incentives.
- Matt Ryan-Michael Vick Relationship: When quarterback Matt Ryan was drafted by Atlanta in 2008, he faced the tall task of replacing Atlanta Falcons legend and fan favorite Michael Vick. Reporter Jim Trotter tells the story of how the two NFL MVPs have, over the years, forged a bond through hand-written letters.
- Year-End Celebrations: With the NFL allowing the return of player celebrations in 2017, Countdown’s Jac Collinsworth visits with Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph to review some of the best touchdown celebrations this year in the NFL.
Fantasy Football Now – Season Finale (Dec. 31, 10 a.m., ESPN2/ESPN App)
Host Lisa Kerney, analysts Matthew Berry, Tim Hasselbeck, Field Yates and injury analyst Stephania Bell will wrap up the regular-season of Fantasy Football Now on ESPN2, Sunday from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. The program will recap the year in fantasy football and look ahead to the day’s matchups with tips and predictions on players expected to turn in fantasy league-winning performances on the last game of the season. Highlights:
- Fantasy Football MVPs:Maligned in 2016 by fantasy football players, Todd Gurley delivered a MVP season in 2017, prompting the Los Angeles Rams running back to tweet a tongue-in-cheek “you’re welcome” Christmas message to fantasy owners. The #FFNow panel will hand out end-of-season awards, an ode to the NFL stars who carried teams to fantasy football championships in 2017.
- Top-Five Fantasy Players for 2018:The show panel will rank the “way too early” top-5 players for 2018.
- Week 17 Fantasy Waiver Wire Update: With teams resting players in Week 17, #FFNow will provide tips on the best waiver wire adds to help players close out their fantasy football championship runs.
- Crowning the Red Zone Champion:The show’s season-long competition ends with the crowning of the #FFNow Red Zone Champion. Berry is vying for his third in a row, while Hasselbeck is looking for a final week comeback.
Additionally, Fantasy Football Now will feature live reports from key games, including the latest injury updates on active/inactive players, and answers to viewer questions submitted via Twitter using the #FFNow hashtag.
ESPN Radio: Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans, Sunday at 4 p.m.
ESPN Radio will conclude its weekly 2017 NFL Sunday schedule on Dec. 31 with the AFC South Divisional matchup featuring Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars (10-5) at the (8-7) Tennessee Titans, led by Marcus Mariota. Coverage will begin at 4 p.m. with Jason Benetti, analyst Kelly Stouffer and reporter Jeff Darlington.
ESPN Digital:
- Identifying the best, most important games of NFL Week 17 (via ESPN’s Football Power Index) – Hank Gargiulo and Seth Walder, ESPN Analytics
- The Nigerian Nightmare: The legend lives on, 30 years later – Mike Sando, ESPN.com
- Barnwell’s bizarro 2017 NFL season: What an alternate universe might look like – Bill Barnwell, ESPN.com
- The best and worst moments of 2017 for every NFL team – ESPN.com
- Saints DE Cameron Jordan is a beast on the field and off of it – Kelley Evans, The Undefeated
- Tony Banks had all the potential in the world – Martenzie Johnson, The Undefeated
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