ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown To Travel to Pittsburgh for Patriots-Steelers Game

ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown is going on the road for just the second time in the program’s 32-year history. This Sunday (Dec. 17), the three-hour NFL pregame show will originate from Jerome Bettis’ Grille 36 in Pittsburgh, down the street from Heinz Field, site of this weekend’s much-anticipated New England Patriots (10-3) vs. Steelers (11-2) AFC matchup.

Sam Ponder will host Countdown (10 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET) from Pittsburgh with analysts Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss, Rex Ryan, and Charles Woodson. Sunday’s show is expected to include special guests on-set, including former Steelers and prominent sports figures from Pittsburgh. NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen, Louis Riddick, and Adam Schefter along with senior fantasy sports analyst Matthew Berry, will contribute to the show from ESPN’s Bristol, CT, studios.

The only previous time Countdown traveled to a regular-season game was a year ago when the NFL returned to Mexico for the first time in 11 years on Monday Night Football Countdown, which originated from Chapultepec Park in Mexico City the day before the game at historic Estadio Azteca.

“This is a unique opportunity to bring our signature NFL pregame show on the road for the game of the year,” says Seth Markman, ESPN senior coordinating producer, NFL studio shows. “Pittsburgh is a great NFL city filled with passionate fans, and the atmosphere surrounding this game is going to have a playoff feel to it.”

Sunday NFL Countdown at Grille 36 will be free and open to the public.