Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth Credit: NBC

Critics of NBC’s Cris Collinsworth love to point out how much he adores Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Sunday Night Football analyst wants everyone to know that he’s aware and he’s read your tweets.

Right before Sunday’s game between the Chiefs and Green Bay Packers, announcer Mike Tirico introduced his booth partner and immediately made note of the fact that Collinsworth would have plenty of opportunities ahead to discuss his favorite NFL quarterback.

“You’ve done about 20 Patrick Mahomes games,” said Tirico. “For once, I’m not gonna ask you about Patrick Mahomes. I wanna know about the part of the Chiefs that’s got us all excited, their defense has been terrific.”

“There’ll be people excited I’m not gonna mention Patrick Mahomes. I’ve been reading my Twitter,” Collinsworth said, grinning as he noted publicly that he’s very aware of all the criticism he’s received during those 20 games.

Of course, Cris couldn’t help himself. Just 20 seconds after saying he wasn’t going to mention Mahomes, he threw some praise the quarterback’s way.

“Did I mention Patrick Mahomes was Player of the Week last week? I don’t know if I did that or not,” said Collinsworth.

“You can’t help yourself, can you?” asked Tirico, already knowing the answer to the question.

Back in September, Collinsworth went viral when he started an SNF broadcast by saying “I think America is about to find out how good he really is,” referring to the two-time NFL MVP and two-time Super Bowl winner.

To be fair, Mahomes isn’t the only NFL quarterback that he gets all hot and bothered about.

[NBC, AA on Twitter]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director 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.