Tony Romo faced plenty of criticism for his work during Sunday’s Bills-Jaguars wild-card round thriller.
And he responded to all the heat… sort of.
The “NFL on CBS” analyst joined Adam Schein on SiriusXM on Wednesday and revealed that he was battling an unspecified illness during the NFL playoff matchup.
“We had a bunch of guys sick, we were just grinding through it. You’re not going to miss a playoff game,” Romo said. “It’s too much fun.”
From the outset of the game, the ex-Cowboys quarterback was ripped apart by large swaths of viewers, and a particularly vocal contingent on social media that included Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy.
In an interview this morning with SiriusXM’s Adam Schein, Tony Romo sort of responds to the negative response to his call of Bills-Jaguars. It was also revealed that Romo was sick on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/Guw2UzFpDe
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) January 14, 2026
His introduction to the game with play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz included trying to compare the Jaguars’ situation to the Panthers’ — who lost the day before in a heartbreaker to the Rams — while calling the Bills both an “underdog” and an “overdog.”
“I don’t think we’ve ever seen it where it’s like, who’s going to win? Ummmm, I don’t know!” Romo said on air. “I’m pretty good at football knowledge and I don’t know. Today’s going to be very telling, though, because Jacksonville is a complete football team. Carolina did that yesterday. They earned the respect, almost won, but they didn’t.
“Jacksonville is in that same situation. They could do it, this could be a major upset. Even though it’s really not an upset, because the Bills are actually the underdog. But they’re the overdog. We’ll see today.”
Schein, who has provided in-game highlight updates for NFL games on CBS this season, asked a follow-up to Romo about if he listens to any of the criticism.
Tony Romo is CBS’ analyst on their No. 1 announcing team for the NFL. CBS via Getty Images
At the end of the day, Romo — who signed a 10-year, $180 million contract with CBS in 2020 — said it’s about having “fun.”
“I think anytime you’re in a position like we are, we’re on the air for three and a half hours. You’re always trying to do the best you can and everything,” Romo said. “There’s always going to be moments where always all this great stuff, and then other stuff. It’s just part of being in your position. You just go back to work, and you do a great job. I mean, that’s the fun part about this. It’s sports, and it makes it fun. You’re just trying to make everyone enjoy the show, and learn a little bit and have a great time.
“To me, it’s what makes sports amazing. It’s fun.”
Romo will again be with Nantz for the Bills-Broncos divisional round game on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET.