CBS tried digital yard lines that viewers hated during AFC Championship snow game

The AFC Championship Game between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos turned into a snowstorm in the second half on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High. And with snow covering the field, CBS chose to add digitally-enhanced yard lines in an attempt to give viewers a better idea of where the ball was.

That idea was fine in theory, but the actual execution only made things even more chaotic and disoriented for CBS viewers.

The yard lines and numbers on the field looked like somebody flipped a light switch, and players looked like ghosts as they ran through the superimposed lines, with the Patriots’ all-white uniforms only amplifying the visual issues.

CBS is going with digital yard lines in the snow, and that’s only leading to more chaos with players disappearing. 🏈📺🌨️😵‍💫 #NFL pic.twitter.com/4jeg23tlHc

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 25, 2026

That led to a ton of viewer complaints on social media. Here are a few examples:

I’d lose the yard line graphics since players are appearing as glitches.

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) January 25, 2026

They could tone down the shade a little. It looks bad when a player — particularly Patriots ones — run through them. https://t.co/BkRsPIgsR6

— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) January 25, 2026

NBC was much more prepared for yard markers in the snow than CBS was pic.twitter.com/8SmXd00eqN

— Buzz (@dan_wilson4) January 25, 2026

I realize CBS wants us to see the 1st down line, but probably not at the expense of making the Patriots all transparent ghosts. The white uniforms are not going to cooperate against the white snow, guys. In-game-adjustments!

— Bob Sturm (@SportsSturm) January 25, 2026

After eight plays over two series, CBS finally removed the digital yard lines and returned to the natural look of the snow-covered field. But there was an adjustment, with CBS adding the yard-line location to the scorebug ahead of most snaps down the stretch.

CBS removed the digital lines and now shows on the scorebug which yard line the ball is on before most snaps. 🏈📺❄️ #NFL https://t.co/Qq4GlB5Czu pic.twitter.com/u2VcMrSbnp

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 25, 2026

While the digital yard lines didn’t go over well with viewers, it was an understandable attempt to try to be creative with the broadcast in tough conditions, and at least CBS made a proper adjustment in the end.