Al Michaels defends low-key call of Jaguars’ wild comeback win

Al Michaels is a legend of broadcasting who has lended his voice to decades’ worth of iconic sports moments. But he and Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy are getting roasted for their call of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ thrilling playoff victory Saturday.

Despite the Jaguars erasing a 27-point deficit against the Los Angeles Chargers to steal a 31-30 win with a field goal as time expired, Michaels and Dungy mostly sounded unmoved in the booth.

I’ll never forget Al Michaels legendary call for one of the largest comebacks in playoff history.

“ok here we go for the win. he got it but there’s a flag down. there’s a flag down…and they call it on the defense.”

pic.twitter.com/G6npuq5O2h

— WS CHAMPION Maton’s Emotions (@Scary_HOUrs_713) January 15, 2023

Tony Dungy and Al Michaels were calling the game like they had to be quiet because their parents were in the other room sleeping pic.twitter.com/LcvKGEbt9Z

— NFL memes (@NFLHateMemes) January 15, 2023

Michaels has seen the criticism of his low-key call during an instant postseason classic and he says he isn’t bothered by it. In texts with the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand, Michaels called the chatter surrounding his call “Internet compost.”

“A lot of folks who understand this industry are annoyed with the over-the-top yelling that makes a game sound like an offshoot of talk radio,” Michaels told Marchand. “I’m in that corner, but there are others who obviously think otherwise.”

Michaels, 78, spent 16 years calling Sunday Night Football games on NBC, first with John Madden and then with Cris Collinsworth. In 2022, he joined the Thursday Night Football team at Amazon where he calls games alongside Kirk Herbstreit.

His return to the NBC booth over the weekend was in an emeritus role and it’ll be Mike Tirico and Collinsworth in the booth next weekend when the Jaguars play the Kansas City Chiefs.