Then color analyst Cris Collinsworth almost immediately called out the absurdity of the Seahawks\u2019 play call, doing his job as expertly as Michaels did his on the NBC broadcast.<\/p>\n
Or, going back to the birth of the dynasty, Fox color analyst John Madden expressing his skepticism to broadcast partner Pat Summerall about the Patriots\u2019 tactics when they got the ball back with 1:21 left in a tie game with the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI: \u201cWith no timeouts, I think the Patriots have to just run the clock out. You\u2019ve got to play for overtime now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Madden acknowledged that he \u201ckind of liked what the Patriots are doing\u201d when young quarterback Tom Brady began marching them down the field. And when Brady casually spiked (and then caught) the ball before Adam Vinatieri\u2019s winning 48-yard field goal<\/a>, Madden perfectly capped his change of heart: \u201cThis is amazing. What Tom Brady just did,\u201d he said, \u201cgives me goosebumps.\u201d<\/p>\n You know all this, I\u2019m sure, perhaps even by heart. But the reason I bring all of that up now is not just to bask in happy flashbacks.<\/p>\n It\u2019s because the best full NFL game broadcast I have ever heard is Joe Buck and Troy Aikman\u2019s call of the Patriots\u2019 comeback from a 28-3 third quarter deficit to defeat the Falcons, 34-28, in Super Bowl LI on Fox.<\/p>\n Buck and Aikman were beyond excellent from the opening kickoff right through James White\u2019s winning touchdown in overtime<\/a>. They never declared it was over, even with Atlanta holding its 25-point lead. They never looked ahead. <\/p>\n Instead, they did the disciplined thing, calling the game as played out in front of them, resisting hyperbole, and hitting the right notes of marvel and incredulity as the Patriots somehow did every single thing they needed to do to have a chance. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are at the two-minute warning,\u201d said Buck as the Falcons clung to a 28-20 lead, \u201cwhich will allow everybody including the two guys talking throughout all of this to catch their breath. 1:57. Wow.\u201d<\/p>\n Their performance on the broadcast of that instantly historic game 10 seasons ago convinced me that Buck and Aikman form the best tandem in an NFL booth since Summerall and Madden in their 1980s heyday.<\/p>\n Buck and Aikman remain excellent after moving to ESPN in 2022<\/a> and bringing a big-game feel back to \u201cMonday Night Football.\u201d And that\u2019s why it\u2019s such a bummer that their partnership, which goes back to 2002 while they were at Fox, appears to be coming to an end.<\/p>\n The abbreviated version of one of the juicier sports-media stories in a while: Buck signed a six-year, $108 million extension with ESPN\/Disney in May. The deal was kept under wraps publicly, and per reporting by Puck\u2019s Dylan Byers<\/a>, Aikman was left in the dark about it even though he is represented by the same agency as Buck. <\/p>\n Aikman reportedly was furious, feeling like Buck betrayed him, and tensions mounted until they nearly came to blows in the booth before the Oct. 12 Rams-Bills game<\/a>.<\/p>\n Aikman has been matter-of-fact about his belief that ESPN intends to find a new broadcast partner for Buck, and has talked openly on a couple of radio interviews about finding his own next landing spot. <\/p>\n While conventional wisdom suggests ESPN has Fox free agent-to-be Greg Olsen<\/a> in mind, Aikman\u2019s next step is murky. CBS seemed to be a possibility, but JJ Watt recently signed a long-term deal to stick around as the lead analyst alongside Jim Nantz. Right now, there\u2019s doesn\u2019t seem to be a path for Aikman to land an analyst job worthy of his stature. <\/p>\n