Tag: Tony Romo

Jim Nantz and Kevin Harlan explained the phantom flag at the end of Bills-Chiefs

It wasn’t a conspiracy, just an error on CBS’s part.

For a brief second after Josh Allen’s desperate fourth down heave hit the turf at Arrowhead Stadium, the Buffalo Bills had hope.

“There is a flag,” CBS play-by-play standby Jim Nantz announced to the masses watching at home.

Kevin Harlan, calling the game for Westwood One Radio, echoed the call. Except, no penalty had been called. The play would count. The Kansas City Chiefs were one clock-killing drive away from a third straight Super Bowl.

It was a confusing experience — one Nantz and Harlan shed light on to Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina Monday morning.

“There’s a spotter that works in coordination with the broadcast team,” Nantz explained.

“I’m just taking what information is passed along. I’m scanning the field and for the life of me I can’t find a flag. But the graphic is up and I’m told, which just part of the chain of communication, I’m told there’s a flag. The first thing you do when you’re told that is you scan the field and identify for your own edification.

“I couldn’t find it.”

Harlan echoed his fellow broadcasting veteran’s sentiment.

“When I see it come up on our CBS scorebug at the bottom of the screen, I said flag,” said Harlan. “There are so many times a flag is thrown in the four corners of the field, you aren’t even looking there, but it’s thrown 20 yards downfield or five yards in the back of the line of scrimmage.

“A lot of times you scan it, but a lot of times you don’t see it. Even when we’re doing TV, you don’t see the flag. So, I have relied on TV when I’m doing CBS that the word coming from the officiating booth to our truck to me in the booth says a flag is down. Even if I don’t see it, I trust that process.”

So there you have it. This wasn’t a nefarious non-call to benefit the NFL agenda of putting the Chiefs in the biggest game of the year. It was a broadcast mistake that was easily corrected, even if it left some confusion in its wake.

Read Traina’s full breakdown here.

Tony Romo grew up a Broncos fan

Tony Romo grew up a fan of the Broncos, he said during a broadcast.

Tony Romo grew up rooting for the Denver Broncos.

The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback now works as an NFL commentator for CBS with Jim Nantz. Last week, Romo and Nantz were assigned to the Broncos’ win-and-in game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Denver wore it’s beautiful 1977-inspired throwback uniform and Romo revealed during the broadcast that he grew up watching the Broncos.

“I love ’em,” Romo said of Denver’s throwback uniforms. “I grew up a Bronco fan, loving John Elway, Karl Mecklenburg, all those guys.”

Eight years ago, the Broncos wanted to acquire Romo ahead of their second season in the post-Peyton Manning era, but the QB ultimately decided to retire. Romo was then quickly picked up by CBS.

Romo and Nantz are now set to call the Broncos’ playoff game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Before that matchup, Denver coach Sean Payton presented Nantz with a game ball for calling his 500th NFL game:

“You guys are first class, thank you,” Nantz told the Broncos after receiving the game ball.

Nantz and Romo will be on the call at 11:00 a.m. MT on Sunday.

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Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will call Broncos’ win-and-in game vs. Chiefs

CBS has assigned it’s No. 1 commentary crew of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo to the Broncos-Chiefs game in Week 18.

CBS has assigned its No. 1 commentary crew to the Denver Broncos‘ regular season finale.

Jim Nantz (play-by-play) and Tony Romo (analyst) will call the Broncos’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Jan. 5 at 2:25 p.m. MT on CBS. Tracy Wolfson will serve as the game’s sideline reporter.

Denver can clinch a spot in the NFL playoffs with a win (or tie) against the Chiefs in Week 18. Facing a win-and-out scenario, the Broncos’ game will be televised on most CBS affiliate channels across the country (in-market game can stream the game on FuboTV).

The last two Denver games with Nantz and Romo did not go well. Earlier this season, the Broncos lost to the Baltimore Ravens 41-10 on the road. Before that, Denver lost to the Los Angeles Rams 51-14 on the road in 2022 with Nantz and Romo on the call.

Here’s the good news: the last time Nantz and Romo called a Broncos home game in Denver, the Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-17 in 2018. Fans in Denver will hope for a repeat performance on Sunday.

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Tony Romo suggested Josh Allen might win MVP over Lamar Jackson because of voter fatigue

Tony Romo’s opinion about Josh Allen’s and Lamar Jackson’s MVP chase shows it’s an impossible decision.

For all intents and purposes, Josh Allen and reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson have both enjoyed otherworldly, MVP-caliber 2024 seasons. Both have succeeded and thrived under their own unique circumstances as two of the finest players in the game. Both would be more than worthy of winning this year’s MVP award. There isn’t really an “incorrect” choice in this race as much as it has a fortunate winner and unfortunate loser decided mostly on vibes and the smallest, razor-thin margins.

It’s that simple.

According to CBS’s Tony Romo, Allen’s and Jackson’s MVP race at the top is so tight that it’s a virtual tie to him. After the Buffalo Bills declined to give Allen an extra touchdown chance during Sunday’s blowout win over the New York Jets — opting to hand off to James Cook instead — Romo shared a fascinating follow-up thought on his general MVP assessment.

Romo thinks that Allen’s and Jackson’s MVP battle might likely boil down to voter fatigue. This means that voters would lean toward picking Allen, even though Jackson has been just as good, if not better because Allen has never won an MVP while Jackson has earned two of the last five.

It’s quite the outcome to suggest on national television:

Romo makes a great point.

Put yourself in any of the voters’ shoes. Allen and Jackson have been objectively incredible this year. Both have been so special that it’s almost impossible to pick one over the other without injecting narrative and personal bias into the process. Because their teams’ records are similar and the play has been so comparable, it’s hard to pinpoint consistent logic that makes sense. In this scenario, the easiest tiebreaker becomes who’s never won it before over the person who has already shown they’re football’s premier player multiple times.

It’s not perfect. But I’d rather have this line of thinking decide an MVP instead of shrugging my shoulders and saying something like, “Oh, Player’s A’s numbers FEEL more notable to me; look at the context!”

What does that even mean? Why do we talk like this about sports? Does anything matter?

On an individual basis, this would understandably be a super frustrating outcome for Jackson and the Ravens. Still, it’s the name of the game. I find it difficult to imagine the Bills wouldn’t be just as upset about Allen losing out for similar arbitrary reasons.

Welcome to the cost of turning the NFL MVP discussion into something that resembles the annual NBA MVP conversation.

No one really “wins” here. Someone just finishes with more votes, depending on who you ask and depending on when they won it.

Lions fans are not happy with the CBS broadcast or Tony Romo

Lions fans are not happy with the CBS broadcast or Tony Romo during Sunday’s matchup with the Bills

The Lions aren’t on CBS very often. During Sunday’s much-hype showdown with the Buffalo Bills, most Detroit fans found out that’s probably a good thing.

The CBS broadcast, led by Jim Nantz and Tony Romo, did not have a good first half in Ford Field.

Whether it’s cutting to an ad without identifying injured players–twice!– or Romo rambling on with non sequitur blather while plays are going on, it was a very amateurish feel to CBS’s alleged top team.

Romo’s smarter-than-you delivery and seeming inattention to offering anything substantive to the conversation was a particular thorny point. Many Lions fans and pundits took issue with both Romo and the CBS overall broadcast in this one.

A small but representative sampling:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why Jim Nantz and Tony Romo aren’t calling an NFL game for CBS in Week 12

There’s a good reason for this.

If you’re watching any of the NFL games on CBS on Sunday in 2024 Week 12, you may notice an absence: There’s no Jim Nantz or Tony Romo on the mics anywhere for the network.

Why is that the case?

There’s a very good reason: Nantz and Romo will be on two games in Week 13, with the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions game on the day of Thanksgiving game, and then they’ll be calling another game on Sunday.

So the top CBS broadcast team gets a week off, as you can see from the broadcaster schedule for the slate of games this Sunday.

There’s your answer!

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Jared Goff joins Tony Romo, Matt Ryan in strange company

Five interceptions thrown in a win is a rarity

Jared Goff threw five interceptions on Sunday in a 26-23 win over the Houston Texans. That marked the third time since 1991 a QB had been picked five times and his team still won.

The others were Tony Romo in 2007 and Matt Ryan in 2012.

Goff wound up 15-of-30 for 240 yards and two touchdown passes.

Romo’s game was a 25-24 October 2007 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

That was a bizarre game which saw the Bills score twice on pick-sixes and once on a 103-yard kickoff return by Terrence McGee.

The Cowboys came back from down 24-13 with 12 points in the final quarter.

They scored nine points in the final 20 seconds with a Nick Folk — yes, that Nick Folk — field goal from 53 yards the difference.

How did that happen?

Per the DemocratandChronicle:

With the Cowboys down 24-16, Romo began a march with 3:45 to play at his own 20, and on the 12th and final play he hit Patrick Crayton with a four-yard TD pass with 20 seconds to go.

The Bills appeared to save what would have been a humongous upset victory when Jabari Greer stripped Terrell Owens in the back corner of the end zone to deny the two-point conversion.

However, the Cowboys’ Tony Curtis recovered an onside kick at the Buffalo 47, and Romo — operating with no timeouts — completed two short passes to move the ball to the 35.

Folk, a rookie from Arizona, made his first attempt from 53 but the Bills called a timeout just before the ball was snapped, forcing him to re-kick. No problem. He coolly nailed the second one to keep the Cowboys undefeated at 5-0.

In Ryan’s five interception game, the Falcons beat the Cardinals 23-19. He became the first QB since Bart Starr in 1967 to win while throwing five picks and zero touchdown passes.

 

Announcers for Eagles vs. Cowboys matchup on CBS revealed

Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will be calling the Eagles Cowboys game Sunday on CBS in Dallas

The Eagles and Cowboys are set for their usual highly intense NFC matchup, and the game will have a familiar face in the announcer booth.

CBS Sports announced that the lead analyst crew of Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, and Tracy Wolfson will be on the call.

Dallas will be without quarterback Dak Prescott, who’ll likely go on IR with a hamstring injury. Cooper Rush will start in his place. The Cowboys should have CeeDee Lamb at wide receiver, and Micah Parsons could return from his five-game absence.

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For the first time since a Christmas meltdown, CBS gives Broncos their top TV crew

For the first time since their Christmas meltdown against the Rams in 2022, the Broncos will have a game called by Jim Nantz and Tony Romo.

The Baltimore Ravens (5-3) are set to host the Denver Broncos (5-3) in Week 9 of the 2024 NFL season in a game that will have big playoff implications in the AFC on Sunday. Consequently, CBS is treating the matchup as a big game.

CBS has assigned its No. 1 commentary crew of Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Tony Romo (analyst) and Tracy Wolfson (sideline reporter) to the Broncos-Ravens game in Baltimore.

The last time CBS assigned this crew to a Denver game was Christmas Day in 2022 when the Los Angeles Rams dominated the Broncos 51-14. That was one of three Christmas Day games that season — most of the NFL’s other matchups that week were played on Saturday.

As Andrew Mason of DenverSports.com pointed out on Twitter this week, the last typical Sunday game featuring the Broncos with the No. 1 crew from CBS happened five years ago in 2019.

Playing on the road, Denver is considered a big underdog this week. Broncos fans will hope the game doesn’t bring back memories of the team’s Christmas calamity two years ago.

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Tony Romo got ripped for thinking Marcus Mariota should replace Jayden Daniels before Hail Mary miracle

Oops!

Tony Romo might want this one back like he did a few weeks ago when he referred to the Washington Commanders by their old name.

This time, it was what he said in another Commanders game: before Jayden Daniels threw a miracle Hail Mary to beat the Chicago Bears, Romo had this to say on the air: “I might bring in [Marcus] Mariota because [Daniels’] ball doesn’t have quite the velocity he’s had in the previous weeks because of the rib injury.”

Whoops! Daniels’ throw had the velocity and distance, and here we are. Fans had a lot to say on this one. Here’s a sampling:

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