One of the best traits of legendary play-by-play broadcaster Al Michaels in the booth is he always calls the game for what it is—no matter how great or ugly it gets.
The officiating in the first half of Thursday's clash between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys gave Michaels plenty to talk about with Prime Video partner Kirk Herbstreit. There were 16 total penalties called in the first quarter, and 12 were accepted—nine on the Cowboys and three on the Giants.
"It looks like June 14th here, otherwise known as Flag Day, as you know," Michaels said to Herbstreit in the second quarter.
"It looks like June 14th here, otherwise known as Flag Day, as you know." - Al Michaels, as there are flags left and right throughout Thursday Night Football. 🏈🎙️🦓 #NFL #TNF pic.twitter.com/Fn1YuiYmgp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 27, 2024
Those flags flew with just over two minutes to play in the first half. There somehow were seven more penalties called before the game went into halftime, including offsetting penalties on Dallas and New York with 28 seconds left.
"There are fouls by both teams on the play," the referee said.
"I'll bet," Michaels quipped in the broadcast booth.
"We've got another flag. You have two more flags in the backfield. No more laundry left... And any number of calls coming your way." - Al Michaels
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 27, 2024
"There are fouls by both teams on the play." - Ref
"I'll bet." - Al 🏈🎙️🦓 #NFL #TNF pic.twitter.com/RHf7RDo63l
After two quarters of play, the Cowboys led the Giants 14–9 at MetLife Stadium.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Al Michaels Dropped Clever One-Liner to Describe Officiating in Giants-Cowboys.