ESPN will air its regular Sunday NFL pregame shows, however, Sunday NFL Countdown is scheduled for noon ET. NFL Matchup will be seen at its regular time on the ESPN family.
Let’s see what’s in store for Conference Championship Sunday on ESPN.
ESPN NFL Programming Update – NFL Conference Championship
Conference Championship Sunday NFL Countdown Begins at 12 p.m. ET
Sunday NFL Countdown with Chris Berman, Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Suzy Kolber, Merril Hoge and Ron Jaworski will preview the NFL Conference Championship games on Sunday, Jan 20, beginning at the special time of 12 p.m. NFL Insider Adam Schefter and senior analyst Chris Mortensen will report the day’s news.
Sal Paolantonio will host NFL Matchup with analysts Merril Hoge and Ron Jaworski Sunday at 6:30 a.m. each day (reairs on ESPN2 at 8:30 a.m.). NFL PrimeTime with host Berman, and analysts Trent Dilfer and Tom Jackson will air Sunday at 11 p.m.
On-site reporters at the Conference Championship games: Conference championship pre- and post-game: Reporters assigned to each team in the championship – Colleen Dominguez (San Francisco) and Ed Werder (Atlanta); Sal Paolantonio (Baltimore) and Rachel Nichols (New England).
ESPN’s NFL studio programming on Conference Championship weekend:
Date Time (ET) Show Networks Sunday, January 20 6:30 a.m. NFL Matchup
Paolantonio, Hoge and JaworskiESPN
(ESPN2 @ 8:30 a.m.)12 p.m. Sunday NFL Countdown (3 hours)
Chris Berman, Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Suzy Kolber, Merril Hoge and Ron JaworskiESPN 11 p.m. NFL PrimeTime
Berman, Dilfer and JacksonESPN Sunday NFL Countdown:
- Boomer with the Smiths: The San Francisco 49ers’ Aldon Smith and Justin Smith are arguably the toughest defensive tandem in the league. Going into their second straight NFC title game, they sit down with Countdown’s Chris Berman to share secrets of their success.
- Soundtracks – Tom Brady: Last Sunday against the Texans, New England’s Tom Brady surpassed his childhood hero, Joe Montana, in playoff victories with his 17th win. The quarterback’s in-game audio from last Sunday will be the subject of this week’s Soundtracks.
- Lee Evans Remembers: Last year, with time winding down in the AFC Championship, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco hit wide receiver Lee Evans for what would have been the go-ahead touchdown and a trip to the Super Bowl. The ball was stripped from Evans and a missed field goal later the Ravens season was over. A year later, Adam Schefter revisits the play and how it has impacted Evans.
- Field Pass: Live look-ins at quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick and Matt Ryan, running back Frank Gore, and wide receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White during their pregame routines leading into the 3 p.m. NFC Championship
- Frank Caliendo: The witty comedian returns to impersonate Hall of Famer and Countdown analyst Mike Ditka and popular radio host Jim Rome.
NFL Matchup:
- Ron Jaworski shows how the Atlanta Falcons used a fake wide receiver screen to get wide receiver Roddy White one on one with Seattle Seahawks Richard Sherman.
- Jaworski covers the field to show how the 49ers offense will expose the voids in Atlanta’s “Cover 3” defensive scheme with their tight end, just like Seattle did with Zach Miller on Sunday.
- Merril Hoge takes a look at how receiver Michael Crabtree has emerged as the 49ers ‘go-to’ guy with 80 percent of his third down catches converting for first downs in the last six games.
- Jaworski explains the mechanics of the 49ers “Pistol Read-Option,” and shows how quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided to keep the ball for a 56-yard touchdown run.
- Hoge breaks down how the Falcons defense used a simple approach to take away the Seahawks “Read-Option.”
- Hoge uses the “Coaches Clicker” to explain how the Ravens executed a very successful run game against Denver.
- Jaworski uses the telestrator in a segment on Ravens offense taking deep shots to receiver Torrey Smith when they have man coverage from New England’s defense.
- Jaworski analyzes the Patriots use of the speed offense with no huddle to catch defenses off-guard, and how it allows New England’s offense to gain easy yards vs. a compromised defense.
And that will do it for this post. We’ll move to Fox Sports next.
