Monday’s Wild Card matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers on CBS featured the network’s No. 1 broadcasting crew consisting of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo on the call of the game.
Unfortunately, some viewers believed that Romo took away from the viewing experience with some missed calls and awkward moments.
Romo has excelled as a broadcaster in certain aspects, especially when it comes to breaking down an offensive play and what a quarterback may be planning to do, something he’s uniquely qualified to do thanks to his 13-year career as a quarterback in the NFL.
However, some could argue that he lacks in some of the other aspects of what it takes to be an entertaining broadcaster, particularly when it comes to speaking on some of the aspects of the broadcast that aren’t exactly about the on-field play.
A prime example of this came in when Romo began to talk about Martin Luther King Jr., where it sure seemed like he started a sentence without any idea where it was going.
“What a day, Martin Luther King Jr. Deserves to have a day named after him.”
?????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/xJoUkG5rQl
— Tony X (@soIoucity) January 15, 2024
It wasn’t like there was anything wrong with what Romo said, as it is obviously a true statement. But viewers at home largely just saw it as a pretty awkward comment.
Wow! What a touching MLK tribute by Tony Romo. Brought a tear to my eye. pic.twitter.com/f1EGvKbkcF
— Korked Bats (@korkedbats) January 15, 2024
I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anyone not know what to say as much as Tony Romo just didn’t know what to say about MLK Day.
“What a day. Martin Luther King Jr. He deserves to have a day named after him.”
— Joe🚬Manco (@Kamarameha41) January 15, 2024
As far as his actual calls on the game, there were also a few hiccups of note from Romo. One came when Romo was certain that a pass that hit the ground was an interception in favor of the Bills even though it was pretty clearly an incompletion.
"This may be a pick!" – Jim Nantz
"I THINK IT'S INTERCEPTED, JIM!" – Tony Romo
"They're saying it hit the ground." – Nantz
"It did. BUT IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS INTERCEPTED, JIM!" – Romo
"I saw you jumping up and down. You thought it was a pick…" – Nantz 🏈🎙️ pic.twitter.com/jeDyWPxzJf
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 15, 2024
Nantz even added that Romo was jumping up and down in the booth when he assumed it was a Bills interception, which is certainly a bad look considering any broadcaster is expected to be impartial while calling a game.
This led to several critical tweets from viewers who seemed to notice Romo’s analysis of the Bills.
If you ever find anybody who loves you like Tony Romo loves Josh Allen, marry them.
Don't hesitate, don't think about it, do it immediately.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) January 15, 2024
Jim Nantz says Tony Romo was “jumping up and down” when he thought that the Bills intercepted this pass. Romo has literally lost the ability to call these games unbiasedly. pic.twitter.com/3zG8Tac1k7
— King of Phinland🐬👑 (@KingOfPhinland) January 15, 2024
Romo was also critiqued by viewers when talking about Steelers running back Jaylen Warren in the game, stating that he didn’t realize the Steelers had “a 1-2 punch” in their running back room
“I’m telling you, when you put the tape on… We know how good (Najee) Harris has been playing, but I didn’t realize they had this 1-2 punch.”
"I'm telling you, when you put the tape on… We know how good (Najee) Harris has been playing, but I didn't realize they had this 1-2 punch." – Tony Romo on Steelers RB Jaylen Warren https://t.co/V6Z1brlveD pic.twitter.com/i0mFBGfbVI
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 15, 2024
This is a pretty huge oversight from Romo, as Warren has actually been even more efficient as a runner than Harris this season, along with adding in a huge threat in the passing game for the Steelers’ offense as well.
Overall, viewers were clearly hoping for some better analysis from Romo.
[Awful Announcing on Twitter/X, Photo Credit: CBS]
