Chris Long Rips Cris Collinsworth Over Super Bowl LII
By Henry McKenna
Cris Collinsworth had a rough night calling Super Bowl LII. Even the casual fan watching the game could identify Collinsworth’s inability to recognize what was coming next on multiple occasions.
An NFL player took note, too.
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long called out Collinsworth over X’s and O’s from the game. Collinsworth incorrectly identified Long’s responsibilities on a reverse pass by the New England Patriots. Collinsworth thought Long was in charge of covering Tom Brady on the trick play when Danny Amendola threw the ball Brady’s way.
That came after Long took note of Collingsworth’s analysis of Zack Ertz’s game-winning touchdown reception. In fact, Collinsworth’s thoughts on that play drew the ire of many fans in Philadelphia. Ertz extended the ball after taking three steps. When he came down, the ball popped loose.
"“I’m not even taking a guess,” Collinsworth said (before taking a guess). “As he was rolling over, it looked like that’s when the ball came out. … I think they have to overturn it.”"
The play was called a touchdown on the field and confirmed by the officials. Cue the crying-from-laughter emojis from Long.
But Long didn’t catch all of Collinsworth’s errors on the evening. Collinsworth also seemed to think Corey Clement’s third-quarter, 22-yard touchdown reception was an incompletion. And to Collinsworth’s credit, this play could have gone either way. Clement got two feet in-bounds, but bobbled the ball between his first and second step. The officials must have determined the bobble wasn’t big enough for him to lose control.
"“I’m stunned. … I give up,” Collinsworth said. “If that ball’s not loose in his arms when that last foot came down, I give up.”"
Coincidentally, the play came right before Collinsworth joked: “I’ll shut up now.” And Al Michaels, NBC’s play-by-play broadcaster, shushed him in agreement. Back in Philly, Eagles fans surely did, too.