Originally, the second segment featured several field reports from the day's games, additional analysis, and inside information about the NFL from Peter King.

Starting in the third portion of the program, Costas and Olbermann take turns reading the game highlights, while Barber, Collinsworth and Bettis were isolated in the "players' room" on another part of the set.

For the last 30 minutes of each edition, Collinsworth emerges from the room to join Costas by the large monitor on the set for highlights and analysis of two pre-selected "marquee matchups" (in Week 1, for example, these were the New England Patriots at New York Jets and the Chicago Bears at San Diego Chargers).

On the regular season debut, Olbermann pilloried New York Jets fans for cheering as Chad Pennington limped off the field with an ankle injury.

On September 16, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell appeared live on Football Night to discuss the videotape scandal that enveloped the New England Patriots and their head coach Bill Belichick.

In the interview, Goodell revealed that the Patriots were asked to turn over all videotape and still photography from previous games and that the team could face further punishment than what had been announced.

On July 7, 2008, it was announced that former ESPN and ABC commentator Dan Patrick would join NBC Sports and serve as a co-host on Football Night in America.

The highlights package at the end of the program, originally known as "Olbertime", was also revamped under the new segment title "The Little Big Show," a reference to the duo's nickname during their time on SportsCenter.

Barber spent the rest of the season as a field reporter, and held those duties for the NFC Wild Card game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Arizona Cardinals on January 3, 2009.

During the 2008–09 playoffs, Matt Millen, who had been fired earlier in the season after roughly eight years as general manager of the Detroit Lions, joined the Football Night in America team as a studio analyst.

Since NBC held the national television rights to Super Bowl XLIII that year, a five-hour edition of the pre-game show aired starting at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on February 1, 2009.

Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann hosted segments on an auxiliary set outside the stadium and on the field and in the locker room (standing up) with Football Night regulars Jerome Bettis and Tiki Barber, as well as guest analyst Rodney Harrison.

Andrea Kremer and Alex Flanagan respectively filed reports on the Steelers and Cardinals; Patrick handled the Super Bowl presentation.

On February 6, 2012, NBC aired a five-hour Super Bowl XLVI pre-game telecast starting at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, hosted by Bob Costas and Dan Patrick, who also emceed the halftime and post-game shows; Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison served as the co-hosts and lead studio analysts.

Active NFL players Aaron Rodgers and Hines Ward contributed as guest analysts exclusively on the pre-game show.

Michele Tafoya filed respective reports on the New York Giants and New England Patriots, while Patrick handled the Super Bowl trophy presentation.

Earlier that year, in March, NBC Sports' operations and all other studio programs moved from the network's New York City headquarters to a new facility in Stamford, Connecticut.

Then-recently added NBC Sports correspondent Josh Elliott (formerly of ESPN and later, ABC's Good Morning America) also joined the FNIA broadcast team that year.

Other than Mike Tirico joining FNIA to alternate pregame hosting duties with Bob Costas at the SNF game site, the format remained virtually unchanged as all commentators returned to the show from the previous season.

The show now ends with Sunday Night Football game picks by Tirico, Harrison, Dungy, Florio, and Chris Simms.

[4] Jac Collinsworth serves as a substitute host from the stadium, generally when McHugh fills in for Tirico at Stamford or has other commitments such as the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Also making his debut in December was MSNBC political analyst Steve Kornacki, who examined playoff scenarios in a manner similar to his coverage of the 2020 United States presidential election.

Jac Collinsworth replaced the departed Liam McHugh, who left to join Turner Sports and anchor their NHL coverage, as an on-site host and analyst Rodney Harrison was moved to the game site as well.

Additionally, Maria Taylor (formerly of ESPN/ABC) joined Mike Tirico, Tony Dungy, Brees, and Chris Simms in the network's Stamford, Connecticut facility.

Former New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty joined this season and was added to the studio set, replacing Dungy, who was reassigned to the on-site crew with Jac Collinsworth and Harrison.

At that point, the format became very similar to the traditional Football Night in America broadcasts, with Faith Hill singing a special playoff version of the intro, Al Michaels and John Madden working the booth, and Keith Olbermann doing a segment during halftime.

Matt Millen made his first public appearance in Collinsworth's seat for the network's 2008 Wild Card coverage, after being fired by the Detroit Lions.

The open features NFL players like: the Vikings’ Stefon Diggs and Anthony Barr, the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, the Rams’ Todd Gurley and Jared Goff, the Falcons’ Julio Jones, and the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson.

For the program's inaugural season in 2006, Bob Costas served as the host, with Cris Collinsworth, Sterling Sharpe and Jerome Bettis as analysts, and Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King as the special "insider" reporter.

[11] In addition, Costas and Collinsworth hosted the halftime show for the Georgia Tech–Notre Dame game on September 1, 2007; this turned out to be a one-shot promotional appearance.