Week 12 of the 2025 NFL season features one of the best slates of the year, and one of the matchups drawing the most attention from fans is the one between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts.
Jim Nantz and Tony Romo are calling the game for CBS, and with the growing controversy around Romo’s broadcasting performance, a former NFL linebacker called him out after he made a questionable comment about Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes during the broadcast.
Former NFL Linebacker Criticizes Tony Romo’s Mahomes Commentary
The Chiefs-Colts matchup promised to be one of the best games of Week 12. Both teams entered with a top-five offense according to PFSN’s OFFi metric, and Kansas City’s playoff hopes will be in significant jeopardy with a loss.
However, some fans have struggled to lock in on the actual game because Romo’s commentary has pulled their attention away from the action. One of those viewers was former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho, who took issue with a specific call made by Romo during a Chiefs offensive snap.
Romo used some interesting wording to describe a play where Mahomes tucked the ball on a pass attempt and scrambled for a short gain, saying, “Everyone swallowed up the receivers on this play, and then they end up swallowing up Mahomes at the end.”
In a deleted X post, Acho questioned Romo’s choice of words, posting a clip of the call and writing, “What the hell did Tony Romo just say??? He really gotta chill on this Patrick Mahomes commentary…”
While it’s understandable why Acho was caught off guard by Romo’s wording, the call itself, in the full context of the play, actually made sense and wasn’t nearly as big a deal as Acho suggested.
Even so, Acho’s complaints are nothing new. Fans across the league have grown increasingly frustrated with Romo’s performance as an announcer lately, and many have accused him for years of being a little too excited when calling Chiefs games in particular.
Earlier this week, Awful Announcing’s Sam Neumann called Romo’s $180 million CBS contract “one of the worst decisions in sports media.” He criticized Romo for his clear Chiefs bias during Kansas City’s Week 11 game against the Denver Broncos and for using random noises in the booth instead of providing fans with actual analysis.
It may seem like harsh criticism, especially given that just five years ago, Romo was widely beloved by NFL fans. However, many have grown frustrated with him, and Acho is far from the only one who has taken issue with Romo this year.
