When the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs square off shortly before Christmas this season, they’ll be wrapped with special packaging. NBC Sports announced Thursday that Peacock will present an alternate broadcast of the AFC contenders’ Week 16 matchup using a special “Madden NFL 25″ format.
Following in the footsteps of CBS, which debuted an alternate Nickelodeon broadcast during the 2020 NFL playoffs; and ESPN, which produces “Monday Night Football with Peyton & Eli” among other alternate programming; Peacock will blend game footage with graphics from the “Madden” video-game series on Saturday, Dec. 21, when the Chiefs will host the Texans at 1 p.m. ET.
Among the anticipated elements: “Madden 25” player cards and ratings, overlayed route trees and real-time data from the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Paul Burmeister will serve as the play-by-play voice of the “Madden” broadcast, per the Associated Press, with former NFL star Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson offering color commentary and live “ratings adjuster” for players in the Chiefs-Texans matchup.
“Not only are the Texans and Chiefs in first place in their respective divisions, but they have star players at multiple positions whose avatars will help us analyze the game’s biggest plays through the ‘Madden NFL 25’ lens,” NBC Sports executive Fred Gaudelli said in a statement, via the AP. “It has long been a point of pride for John and the Madden family that their video game has helped generations of fans and gamers learn and enjoy football, and we are thrilled to continue that tradition.”
