The Kansas City Chiefs destroyed the Cincinnati Bengals 45-10 on Sunday night. The over/under line for the game was 56.5 points.
NBC play-by-play man Al Michaels was very aware of the over/under number, and said before the season that he intends to drop in gambling references as he’s done many times during NFL games in the past, especially with legal sports gambling on the rise.
So Michaels casually referenced the over/under in hilarious fashion, when the score was 45-10 and the Chiefs had a 4th-and-4 at the Cincinnati 5-yard line with 4:21 remaining. A field goal would make the score 48-10 (or 58 total points), and that would mean the over would hit. But with the game out of hand and little time remaining, a field goal would be a waste of everyone’s time (well, not a waste of time for people that bet the over or have Harrison Butker as their fantasy kicker, of course). So Kansas City head coach Andy Reid chose to just hand the ball off to backup running back Spencer Ware, which resulted in a two-yard gain and loss of downs.
Here’s what Michaels had to say before the play:
“I’m trying to do a little math here. You (Cris Collinsworth) kinda know what I’m thinking about. 56.5 is a number that a lot of the fans are thinking about right now.”
And here’s how Twitter reacted to that:
Shorter Al Michaels: "HIT THE OVER YOU FOOLS"
— Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) October 22, 2018
A tradition unlike any other: Al Michaels casually mentioning the over-under with 4 minutes left in the game.
— Daniel Rathman (@DanielRathman) October 22, 2018
Al Michaels unabashedly talking about the over/under line is peak Al Michaels
— Chris Lundberg (@Lundy330) October 22, 2018
Not quite as good as his amazing “OVER-whelming” line in 2017, but still another gambling reference gem from the broadcaster. Never change, Al Michaels.
[NBC]