Wild Card Weekend in the NFL has arrived, and it’s kicking off with the Houston Texans hosting the Cleveland Browns. The game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. ET and will air on NBC.
However, despite the game airing on NBC, there will be a difference in this game from normal NBC games. Al Michaels will not be calling the game. Why is that the case?
Why Is Al Michaels Not Covering Browns vs. Texans?
The legendary play-by-play caller will not be in the booth for Browns-Texans or the playoffs at all. In December, the New York Post reported that NBC would be going in a different direction for playoff coverage. According to the reports, Michaels was not expecting the move.
Michaels, who is now 79 years old, came under fire last year for his underwhelming coverage of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 27-0 comeback victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2023 Wild Card Round. His underwhelming coverage continued into the 2023 regular season, leading to the decision.
NBC will hold three playoff games, with the network’s top team of Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth handling two of them. The other game, which happens to be Browns vs. Texans, will feature NBC’s top college team in Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge. Eagle and Blackledge were the announcers for Bengals-Steelers in Week 16.
Michaels has been with NBC Sports since 1971 but has spent most of his time with the company from 2006 to the present. In 2023, though, he has been alongside Kirk Herbstreit for Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video.
During an interview with the New York Post earlier in November, Michaels said he believed he was still going to call games on NBC but was unsure who he would work with. Based on what he’s said, it appears he did not know this would be coming.
“It’s in my deal,” said Michaels when The Post informed him it wasn’t a guarantee. “Where are you hearing that from? That’s part of my deal. Are you hearing something that I’m not hearing?”
Michaels and NBC have been rumored to have had tension for a long time, but it has been hidden from the public view. NBC already moved Michael’s off of Sunday Night Football, where he had been in the past, being replaced by Tirico.
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Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported that the decision to move on from Michaels came after the Super Bowl in 2022, moving toward Tirico. “They really kind of decided to move on from Al Michaels after the Super Bowl in 2022. That’s when the succession plan [began] with Mike Tirico taking over,” he said.
The end of Michael’s tenure as a playoff announcer marks the end of a legendary run. He is tied with Pat Summerall for the most Super Bowls called on television with 11. His broadcasting career dates all the way back to 1964.
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