We know a few things about the legendary Al Michaels: He winks to NFL viewers about the spread, he has never eaten a vegetable in his life, and if there’s a terrible game in front of him on Thursday Night Football, he might be a little low energy.
That last one wasn’t really the case on Thursday with the New Orleans Saints eventually coming back against the Jacksonville Jaguars before Christian Kirk scored an incredible 44-yard touchdown that with just over three minutes left to give the Jags the lead.
But Michaels’ call? Not great — he may have thought Kirk stepped out somewhere? — and fans let him know it:
THIS IS BAD: Al Michaels on a CLEAR 40+ yard touchdown by the #Jaguars to take the lead
“Christian Kirk inside the 20, he goes, and Christian Kirk takes the ball all the way to about the one yard line”
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 20, 2023
Time to retire, Al Michaels. #TNFonPrime #ThursdayNightFootball pic.twitter.com/2lICq8jwKn
— Kevin Lagowski (@BigLagowski) October 20, 2023
Al Michaels has got to go to bed this is getting ridiculous pic.twitter.com/WpRqmy3e8b
— AntiClowNFL (@anticlowNFL) October 20, 2023
Fans didn’t love these calls either:
I’m just now listening to this play again. If the Jags make the playoffs, do not put Al Michaels on the call. He doesn’t seem to have emotion for Jags games https://t.co/1sinxutAgV
— Mike Yazigi (@Mike_Yazigi94) October 20, 2023
I am a huge Al Michaels fan, however, the last year or so he has not been near as good. This is an awful call to end the game. Sounds like it's 1st down in the 1st quarter.pic.twitter.com/EHRrqxgEAf
— Boomer (@ESPNHockey23) October 20, 2023