The MVP of Week 13 was not someone on the field, but rather the studio.
NBC’s Steve Kornacki, who garnered national attention for his election coverage, was called upon by the network to bring some of his touchscreen magic to NBC’s Football Night in America on Sunday to break down the NFL playoff picture.
While there was no mention of Maricopa County (although there was focus on Arizona’s playoff hopes), Kornacki was back in his khakis and rolled up sleeves as he seamlessly made the transition from politics to football by using data from Pro Football Focus to demonstrate the probability each team had in making the postseason.
Viewers on Twitter raved about the job Kornacki was doing and were hoping to see him back.
Contender for this year’s best crossover: Steve Kornacki breaking down NFL playoff odds pic.twitter.com/r7oLASLVKM
— Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) December 7, 2020
According to sports media reporter Richard Deitsch, there is a “high probability” Kornacki will return to Football Night in America.
NBC Sports columnist Peter King caught up with Kornacki, a Patriots fan “from the 1-15 years,” after his football debut on how the crossover from politics to sports came to fruition.
“I got a call from my boss, I wanna say, a week after the election just saying that NBC Sports had some ideas, wanted to talk,” Kornacki said. “I’d say about the last two weeks, we put it together.”
While Kornacki has always had a greater passion for politics, he felt right at home when it came time to break down the playoff picture.
“This feels like the Road to 270, except this is for the playoffs,” Kornacki said. “We did a segment tonight where we were talking about the Cardinals falling to the eighth spot in the playoffs, and Minnesota moves into number seven, but the model still likes Arizona’s chances over Minnesota.
“It’s like looking at, ‘Well, you know in Michigan, right now, Trump is 12 points ahead – but if you look at the ballots that are still to be counted, where they’re coming from, it says Biden.’ It’s a very similar thing to election night. I felt it right away.”
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