Al Michaels might not like to fake excitement on Amazon’s Thursday Night Football broadcast, but he’s doing himself and the broadcast a disservice by ignoring legitimately exciting plays.
Last week, Michaels was criticized for calling a game-deciding fourth down pass attempt to the end zone from Derek Carr like it was a first quarter incompletion. And during this week’s Buffalo Bills-Tampa Bay Buccaneers- matchup, Michaels left a lot to be desired on his call of a blocked field goal attempt.
This field goal attempt from Chase McLaughlin and Todd Bowles' reaction pic.twitter.com/2IYlZkHbhW
— Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhiferNFL) October 27, 2023
With less than five minutes to go in the first quarter, the Bucs lined up for a 50-yard field goal on fourth down. The kick by Chase McLaughlin floated left, bouncing into the end zone well below the crossbar. As he called the failed kick, Michaels appropriately followed the ball into the end zone, but the renowned play-by-play voice completely missed the part where it was blocked by Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson.
Michaels sent Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football broadcast into commercial believing McLaughlin brutally shanked the first quarter field goal attempt and he received no help from his producers and spotters. This certainly isn’t the most egregious example of awful announcing, but Michaels, who has railed against Thursday Night Football’s “dreadful” slate of games in the past, isn’t doing himself any favors by overlooking exciting plays.
No one is expecting Michaels to try and “sell a used car” by overhyping mediocre matchups or poor play on the field, but in the last two weeks, he sucked the excitement out of a blocked field goal, a game-deciding defensive stop, and a game-winning touchdown. There’s no question Thursday Night Football has been dealt some brutal games since Michaels took over the call, but it’s hard to hear him complain about the on-field product when he’s downplaying the action.
