The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks met for the 2026 NFL season opener — and a Super Bowl LX rematch — on Wednesday night at Lumen Field. With Mike Tirico in town, the NBC play-by-play announcer had the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for Tuesday night’s Seattle Mariners game at T-Mobile Park.
And during the Patriots-Seahawks game, the NBC broadcast showed off Tirico’s first pitch and even provided a Statcast graphic and data.
Tirico’s broadcast partner, color commentator Cris Collinsworth, had a lot of fun with the moment.
“Yes, sir, you are seeing what you think you are seeing,” Collinsworth said, essentially taking over the role of play-by-play announcer during the Tirico highlights. “Mike Tirico with a 95-mile-an-hour fastball right down Broadway for the strike. The crowd went crazy. Some 25,000.”
The Statcast graphic followed, with Tirico’s right-handed pitch dotting the outside corner at 34 mph.
“Look at the breaking ball. It was definitely a strike,” Collinsworth continued.
Mike Tirico gets the Statcast treatment. 🏈⚾️🎙️😂 pic.twitter.com/QMAzOkLfJg
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 10, 2026
“How hard was it to put that much break on that ball?” Collinsworth asked Tirico.
“It was hard,” Tirico said. “You don’t often see a pitch that high. It was rare hang time, like a punt, on my opening pitch.”
“It was a beautiful thing,” Collinsworth said.
Tirico and Collinsworth went on to call a wild finish between the Patriots and Seahawks that left them stunned. And they’ll follow that up by calling Sunday Night Football between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants this weekend.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at Awful Announcing and The Comeback.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@awfulannouncing.com.