When Tony Romo calls any NFL game, there are several things you’re just going to have to power through.
The strange noises. The stilted jokes. The Jims. So many Jims…
When Romo is calling a game that involves Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, that’s a whole other story. While the CBS broadcaster hasn’t been under the microscope quite like he was last season, his propensity to turn Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills games into a quarterback lovefest brings out some of his most frustrating qualities, with some NFL fans going as far as to say they find him unlistenable.
You didn’t have to have watched Sunday’s playoff showdown between the Bills and Baltimore Ravens to know what kind of mood Romo was in all day.
He’s far from the only color commentator to make obsessing over good quarterbacks his personality, and some audiences have become inured to that style. But Romo’s penchant for over-praising Allen rubbed a lot of viewers the wrong way Sunday.
Tony Romo was slobbering Josh Allen the entire game @TheShredLine pic.twitter.com/ypVWWavPpy
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 20, 2025
tony romo be having fan fiction about josh allen everytime he commentates a bills game like this is awful
— Jl (@MIK3MCDANIEL) January 20, 2025
Tony Romo is to the Bills is what everyone thinks Cris Collinsworth is to the Chiefs.
— Lucas (@StrozinskyLucas) January 20, 2025
Aside from his quarterback adoration, Romo also had several instances that could best be described as sounding like he was in the middle of a fever dream. It was as if he was experiencing the game of football for the first time while also attempting to describe it to aliens.
“Big people can push around littler people.”
– Tony Romo pic.twitter.com/SEGw8S1fPX
— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) January 20, 2025
No moment summed that sensation up better than his commentary around Mark Andrews’ ill-fated two-point conversion drop.
Jim Nantz & Tony Romo on the CBS call for the Mark Andrews drop.
“THE BALL IS DROPPED! HE HAD THE 2-POINT CONVERSION IN HIS HANDS! ANDREWS DID NOT HOLD ON!” – Nantz
“Oh my goodness.” – Romo
“It’s shocking.” – Nantz
“It’s shocking… That’s caught 999 out of 1,000.” – Romo https://t.co/Hcs8sQaey9 pic.twitter.com/CuWAPZ609w
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 20, 2025
“Oh my goodness… Oh… Baltimore… the drop by Henry earlier… Andrews had a drop as well earlier, and for the game to go possibly to overtime… and the conditions, the ball is just a little bit short you gotta catch that all day, but your foot slips, and Milano wasn’t in on that play, actually, and guess what, he out-leveraged him. Buffalo wasn’t prepared for that play call.”
If you were watching the game with someone at home and they rambled like that, you’d probably lean over and ask them if they’re OK.
If you didn’t enjoy Romo’s call of this game, we’ve got some very bad news. Next week, he’s calling a game that pits Patrick Mahomes against Josh Allen with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
No one is safe.