‘I’m choking up!’ – Al Michaels loses it on Amazon broadcast as Kirk Herbstreit gets accused of ref ‘bias’
Fans renewed calls for Al Michaels to retire after the legendary play-by-play announcer suffered an on-air coughing fit.
Michaels was in position for Prime Video as the Detroit Lions faced the Dallas Cowboys in a massive Thursday Night Football clash, which saw CeeDee Lamb suffer a sickening concussion.
Late in the game, alongside partner Kirk Herbstreit, the pair took a moment to discuss the NFL‘s obsession with labeling every game a ‘must win’.
“We start hearing ‘must win’ in Week 4, right? The whole season is must win,” Michaels joked.
Herbstreit then suggested his mindset has been influenced by all the sports talk shows that he watches.
“(All the shows) that you’re on!” Michaels, who has recently opened up on retirement plans, quipped back.
The broadcasters then shared a chuckle, which led to an awkward moment as the Lions and Cowboys game resumed following the two-minute warning.
As he watched on, Michaels struggled to catch his breath and call the next play.
“Third and 10… Prescott, incomplete. Fourth… I’m choking up!” he said.
NFL fans call for Al Michaels to ‘retire’ after TNF incident
The moment was quickly clipped up and shared on social media, with some viewers suggesting it was time for the broadcast icon to step away from the booth.
“We almost lost Al Michaels live on air,” one fan wrote on X.
“Legendary career but the guy needs to be on a beach somewhere,” another posted.
“He was choking harder than the Dallas defense,” a third joked, taking aim at the Cowboys’ TNF performance, as they lost 44-30.
A fourth simply concluded: “Al Michaels should retire.”
While Michaels faced further calls to step away, after fans expressed serious concern last month, his partner Herbstreit also drew the ire of frustrated viewers for defending what many described as ‘referee bias’.
Viewers slam Kirk Herbstreit defense of NFL officials
During the second quarter, the Cowboys appeared to benefit from a missed call when their defensive line jumped offsides.
It looked so clear, in fact, that Lions quarterback Jared Goff thought he had a free play. He threw a deep pass to Jameson Williams on the sideline, which went incomplete.
To the dismay of Goff and head coach Dan Campbell, no flag was thrown and Detroit moved to fourth down.
Fans inside Ford Field also made their feelings clear, and loudly booed after watching replays of the apparent jump.
Herbstreit, though, believes the officials got the call right.
He initially suggested there was ‘movement by Dallas’ as Detroit held steady, but later added: “I really think the ball got snapped before he got into the neutral zone.
“So I think it’s the right call.”
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Michaels then referenced the boos and said: “Don’t tell that to the crowd right now.”
Plenty on social media took a different view to Herbstreit, and suggested he was defending ‘ref bias’ on the TNF call.
“They just protecting the refs,” one fan wrote on X.
“He is trying to cover up what’s happening tonight. The refs are clearly biased. It’s obvious,” another claimed.
“Yeah, that take isn’t fooling anyone — the bias is right there on display,” a third wrote, responding to the clip.
A fourth claimed: “The NFL wants their beloved Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs!”
Others, though, suggested the call was actually correct.
“Ya, it’s 17-6 (to Detroit). Clearly refs are biased,” one said, sarcastically.
“They’re all behind the ball when it was snapped,” another pointed out.
“It’s the right call. D was moving, but not in the neutral zone when the ball was snapped,” a third concluded.
Tight decisions, and those that are apparently missed, will always split opinion among NFL fans.
On this occasion, though, the Lions will just be glad the officials had no bearing on a big TNF win.
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