When Tony Romo became the biggest sensation in NFL broadcasting, it was because he was a gunslinger as an analyst, predicting games with an unusual style that eventually led to a 10-year, $180 million contract, then the richest known deal in sports media history.
These days, four years after that deal, after all the Romo criticism, CBS clearly entered its third Super Bowl as a TV analyst looking for a game manager instead of a game changer. But old habits die hard.
On the final call to end the Super Bowl LVIII overtime classic between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, Romo and play-by-play partner Jim Nantz’s lack of teamwork was on display at the worst possible time.
Early on, Romo did a good job with the Chiefs down three points and inside the 5-yard line late in overtime, explaining that it didn’t matter as the crowd watched the clock tick down — the game wouldn’t be over and it simply flowed into a second quarter of the O.T. But Romo continued to talk a lot.
This prevented Nantz from setting up the endgame properly. As the game-winning touchdown was scored, Nantz said, “First and goal, Mahomes throws it! It is there! Tough man! Total bets! Kansas City!”
CHIEFS ARE FIRST TO BACK SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS! pic.twitter.com/ZzfhTyUXg9
— NFL (@NFL) February 12, 2024
Romo initially mumbled in the background of Nantes’ call as if he were a local radio yahoo. After Nantz finished, Romo began, “That was the Andy Reid special. …” And then on and on.
For 30 seconds, as CBS showed reaction, Romo talked about the play when the best resolution would have been silence, allowing the crowd and the pictures to tell the story. It should have been Nantz’s show moment, if anyone.
Nantz and Romo were once supposed to be the next Pat Summerall and John Madden, but they’ve fallen so far that their disjointed performance Sunday was something CBS would probably pick up. Before the final game, the transmission wasn’t perfect, but it was mostly manageable. Maybe not one for a night at the Sports Emmys, but, production-wise, it had its moments.
Nantz and Romo make the big bucks — nearly $30 million a year between them — so, like the quarterbacks, they get most of the credit and responsibility. Their quarterback rating wasn’t high enough, missing obvious big issues.
The duo never failed to explain why defenses — especially 49ers tight end Travis Kelce in the first half — had their way with offenses for so long. They were also very emotional when the CBS production team expertly spotted Kelce punching and screaming at his 65-year-old coach. They rarely talked about line play. And the overall themes of the game were often lost. There were no threads.
The ratings for the Super Bowl broadcast are the highest because it is the most prestigious assignment in American sports broadcasting. Nantz has called the play six times, but his collaborators, first Phil Simms and now Romo, have faltered under his watch. Bad trend.
Meanwhile, Romo is inconsistent in his thinking. With 10 seconds left in regulation and the Chiefs at the 49ers’ 11, Romo said, “If you have six seconds, you feel comfortable doing it again.”
After an incomplete pass with six seconds left, Romo said, “If he had seven, I would have,” adding that Kansas City had to punt.
Um, but, Tony, you just said…
Does not matter.
Inconsistency happens a lot with Romo, resulting in CBS Sports executives putting on a brave face publicly and privately defending him, but actions are almost always where the truth falls, and their truest thoughts are evident in their approach. .
Early on, it was clear, CBS’ game plan was to simplify the offense. In the first half, he cut back on the excessive use of many voices, sticking mostly to Nantz and Romo. Romo looked frozen. It wasn’t bad.
The production team was big in the second quarter. After Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco scrambled, he found a lateral shot on which Kelce met Reid.
Travis Kelce looked less than thrilled pic.twitter.com/yncKhjtNl4
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) February 12, 2024
“He’s going, ‘Keep me in,'” Romo said, apparently reading lips. “What happened is that, at the stroke, he was not in the game. Noah Gray came in and had to block. Noah Gray, the tight end, had to block (Deommodore) Lenoir. Lenoir made him swim and actually set up the fumble. And I think Kelce is saying, ‘Keep me in there, even if we’re running the ball.’
Let’s put the side that we needed to consult Google Translate to go from Romo to English to understand what it might mean, “(Deommodore) Lenoir made him swim and actually set up the fumble,” the story is that Kelce almost to knock down his coach.
He wasn’t Latrell Sprewell to PJ Carlesimo, but he was Taylor Swift’s boyfriend in front of about 115 million viewers, give or take. We kind of needed the former All-Pro Cowboys quarterback to weigh in on whether or not this was kosher.
The best part about Romo is his fun-loving personality. Non-diehard fans can sympathize with him because Romo comes across as — and from all firsthand reports is — a genuinely nice guy. It would be nice to have a beer with him, a good quality announcer.
On Sunday, the most personality Romo showed was when he sang Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” to break down another big Cowboys broadcaster, Don Meredith. Romo would do it again in the third quarter, trying to lure Nantz — who’s been a broadcaster since the Peter Jennings/Tom Brokaw days — for a singalong to Elvis’ “Viva Las Vegas.” Romo even did a bit of Beastie Boys late with “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)!”
As for Nantz, he sounded very amped up to open the game, perhaps overcompensating for some less-than-enthusiastic early playoff calls. In the first half’s two Romaisms, Nantes challenged him properly. Romo said a touchdown might be sideways in the second quarter, and then late in the period, with the scoreless Chiefs down by 10, he said it might be in four-down territory. Nantes rightfully threw the challenge flag at both.
In the end, the problem with the tandem is that for all their “boyfriend” and “boyfriend” talk, not to mention the over-the-top, on-air “I love yous,” they don’t sound on the same page.
That disconnect shows up at the biggest points, when people are watching, when what you’ve been doing all season shows up.
Nantz and Romo should have the broadcast strategy of this last play down. Romo’s appeal may be that he’s like a fan, but he’s doing the Super Bowl broadcast and getting paid handsomely to do it.
He just needed to get away to allow Nantz to make his full call, then wait for the pictures and sounds to end to note that Mahomes is Michael Jordan.
It was no time for the shooter. CBS had the scheme right and Nantz and Romo executed at times. But in the biggest game of the season, Romo went free and lost.
(Tony Romo and Jim Nantz photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)
