Even before the NFL and other leagues began to fully embrace gambling, Al Michaels could always be depended upon to reference different betting lines in games he was broadcasting. He did not disappoint on Thursday, as the game between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers was much higher scoring than expected.
Expectations were that Thursday’s game would be low-scoring. It made sense.
As Michaels detailed, the Patriots scored 13 combined points in their three games before Thursday night. The Steelers had their share of offensive struggles, as well and were now playing with backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky. So, the over/under was a rather paltry 30.5.
But led by Bailey Zappe, the New England offense was much better than expected. The Patriots opened up a 21-3 lead in the second quarter. Pittsburgh got a touchdown later in the quarter on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Trubisky to Diontae Johnson. The touchdown made the score 21-9 for a total of 30 points. As the replay was being shown, color commentator Kirk Herbstreit said that the Steelers “Answered the call. They needed the points, and they got ’em.”
That was a perfect setup for Michaels. The next shot was of Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell splitting the uprights on the extra point, making the score 21-10. That prompted Michaels to say, “And if you liked the over. they’ve also answered the call.”
"They answered the call. They needed the points and they got 'em."
"And if you liked the over, they've also answered the call."
Kirk Herbstreit set him up and Al Michaels delivered. pic.twitter.com/olLdcULJQo
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 8, 2023
After the commercial, Michaels again joked about the game being higher scoring than expected.
“So a lot of people thought, that there’d only be like — some people, consensus — 30 points in this game. Not AWS. They didn’t weigh in on this. But your friendly local bookmaker. Or unfriendly ones.” pic.twitter.com/VYSGRt0m9g
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 8, 2023
For most of Michaels’ career, the references to gambling lines have been simultaneously obvious and subtle. For example, at the end of Super Bowl XXIX, as the then-San Diego Chargers were moving down the field against the San Francisco 49ers, Michaels referenced that “a few people around this great land of ours have moved to the forward portion of the couch at the moment.” Trailing 49-26, the Chargers were not going to win the game, but they could still cover the 18.5-point spread.
But as the NFL has embraced gambling more, the need to be subtle has been minimized, something Michaels clearly has no problem with.
[Photo Credit: Photo Credit: Amazon Prime]
