Bobby Flay judges NFL Live’s “Tailgate Throwdown” airing today

Overcast skies do not dampen the spirits of the NFL Live crew or chef Bobby Flay. (Taylor Garrett/ESPN)

Bobby Flay samples one of the competitors’ work. (Taylor Garrett/ESPN)

Flanked by NFL analysts Herman Edwards (left) and Tedy Bruschi (right), chef Bobby Flay prepares to judge their NFL Live “Tailgate Throwdown” segment. (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)

Bobby Flay (left) inspects a burger as Tedy Bruschi (center) and Trey Wingo observe. (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)

Herman Edwards (second from right) commands the grill during the “Tailgate Throwdown.” (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)

The 2016 NFL season is months away from the opening kickoff, but it’s not too early to fire up the tailgating grill.

Chef Bobby Flay, who co-hosts the new season of Food Network’s “Food Network Star” cooking competition series with Giada De Laurentiis, visited ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., campus this morning to test the barbecuing skills of analysts Herman Edwards and Tedy Bruschi with host Trey Wingo.

The segment will air today on NFL Live at 2:30 p.m. (ESPN/WatchESPN).

What inspired the segment, taped outside ESPN’s Digital Center 2 before a crowd of cheering ESPN colleagues?

“Tailgating is a huge part of football and there’s no better way to do it than with one of the best chefs in the world,” Chad Minutillo, NFL Live producer, said. “I thought it would a lot of fun to have the guys go head-to-head in a ‘Tailgate Throwdown’ for the best burger. Trey, Tedy, and Herm are the best in the business when it comes to combining football and fun.”

Bill Hofheimer contributed to this post.
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