The Cincinnati Bengals will host the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium for a divisional Thursday Night Football matchup. Zac Taylor’s team has dropped four games in a row after starting the season 2-0 for the first time since he took over as head coach. Joe Burrow’s injury has been a massive blow, and they will hope that veteran Joe Flacco still has something left in the tank to help them stop the bleeding.
The Steelers, on the other hand, are fresh off a 23-9 rout of the Cleveland Browns to take their record to a division-best 4-1. Aaron Rodgers has looked sharp so far, throwing ten touchdowns against three interceptions and relying on the running game. And with star EDGE rusher Trey Hendrickson likely to miss the game with a hip injury, it could be another big night for the future Hall of Famer.
Who Will Guide Fans Through Steelers-Bengals on Thursday Night Football?
Once again, the legendary Al Michaels will handle play-by-play duties for this game. He has been around since 1978 and has become a sports TV institution. So far, he is the only play-by-play announcer to be in the booth for the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, and World Series. He’s a five-time Sports Emmy award winner.
Former Ohio State QB Kirk Herbstreit will get the nod as the color commentator. He’s known for his work at ESPN’s College GameDay and his color commentary on college football broadcasts. He has won 14 Emmys so far.
Kaylee Hartung will serve as the sideline reporter. She also has a background at ESPN, the SEC Network, CNN, CBSNews.com, and ABC News. She has also starred in ABC’s Good Morning America, among other notable shows.
Amazon Prime also turned to Charissa Thompson to assemble this Avengers-like broadcasting crew. This is her fourth season as TNF’s halftime show, following her start on FOX back in 2007.
From then on, it’s all NFL legends on the crew. Former tackle Andrew Whitworth, the oldest offensive lineman to win a Super Bowl, will serve as one of the pregame, halftime, and postgame analysts.
He’ll be joined by fellow former Super Bowl winner Richard Sherman, legendary tight end Tony Gonzalez, and retired QB and fan favorite Ryan Fitzpatrick.
This game could have significant implications for postseason seeding. Fortunately, fans can count on some of the best in the business to keep them informed about everything that’s happening on the field.
