Around 9:15 p.m. EST on Saturday, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton announced that quarterback Bo Nix would miss the remainder of the playoffs due to a knee injury suffered towards the end of their win over the Buffalo Bills.
Fox’s presentation of the NFC game between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers was already underway. The injury did not come up during the first half.
Around 9:55 p.m. EST, the game went into halftime, and the Fox halftime show began. After running down highlights of their own game, the show went to commercial, but not before host Curt Menafee teased the news, saying the winning team suffered a “costly injury.”
Returning from commercial, they ran through the highlights of Denver’s 33-30 win over Buffalo before showing Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s postgame reaction. Finally, at 9:59 p.m. EST, Menafee threw it to Fox reporter Jay Glazer, who shared the news of Nix’s shocking injury with Fox audiences.
Given the injury’s newsworthiness and its importance to NFL fans, Fox faced criticism and questions about its decision to delay sharing that information with its audience.
I know Glazer is the news breaker at Fox Sports, but this wasn’t a scoop at this point.
Sean Payton had announced this to everyone in his postgame presser 30 minutes ago.
Very weird. IMO fans deserve better faster. 🤷
— patrick (@muldowney) January 18, 2026
Am I crazy or should Fox Halftime have led with Nix injury?
— David P. Samson (@DavidPSamson) January 18, 2026
How has FOX not run the Bo Nix news on their NFC broadcast through either an on-screen crawl or cut to their studio? Clearly the biggest NFL news at the moment.
— Eric Little (@TheEricLittle) January 18, 2026
This Fox broadcast hasn’t mentioned the Nix news yet has it?
— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) January 18, 2026
As one person noted, given that many NFL fans watching the Fox broadcast likely watched the CBS broadcast beforehand, the lack of a mention or note is even odder.
How does the @NFLonFOX halftime show not lead with @BoNix10? Mini recap of the game we are all watching to a tease of a costly victory? That’s bad producing.
— John Laughrin (@jlaughrin01) January 18, 2026
It does seem strange that Fox would withhold that information and then use it as a tease, sharing it halfway through their halftime show. Was it a bad production choice? Was it being competitive with CBS? Was it because the journalism mindset has been so diminished in studio shows that they just didn’t make it a priority?
Whatever the decision, it stood out for being odd given the stakes and the audience it would serve.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.